PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man in Vancouver is one of tens of thousands of Ukrainians abroad answering president Volodymyr’s Zelensky’s call to return home and help fight against the Russian invasion.
Alex Korenev says that his younger brother Sergey was ready to go back and help his friends fight almost immediately after Russia invaded.
Sergey Korenev has lived in Ukraine most of his life. Two years ago, his family won a green card lottery, so he chose to join his brother Alex in the Vancouver area in hopes of giving his two daughters, Maria and Anna, a better life and education in the U.S.
“That’s how he ended up here now. And how he ends up going back to his homeland to try and help to protect it,” Alex Korenev said.
Kornev says his brother Sergey packed his bags last week and is on his way to Ukraine with medical supplies and thousands of dollars in donations.
“He just cannot sit on his hands, he sees what’s happening, how his country is being destroyed, brutal unprovoked inhumane invasion, by somebody who has lost connection with any humanity, maybe even reality,” Kornev said.
First, Sergey is traveling to get his mom out of Ukraine to bring her to safety with relatives in Poland.
“They’re ready to get her into safety and come back to keep helping his brothers and arms,” Kornev explained.
While at the Portland International Airport, a day after his 43rd birthday, Sergey hugged his daughters as he left to board a flight to fight for freedom.
Kornev told KOIN 6 News Sergey’s daughters are anxious, but more than anything, they’re proud of their father for fighting for Ukraine.