VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Vancouver man is on a tough journey home to Ukraine, ready to fight the Russian invasion.
Sergey Korenev said goodbye to his daughters and other family members at Portland International Airport last week.
Journalist Sergio Olmos published a story in The Guardian, following that journey with video showing Korenev's daughters crying as their father hugged them.
"Ukrainians are very brave people," Korenev's ex-wife Valentina told KGW this week. "He is a really good man."
Korenev is one of about 66,000 Ukrainians returning home to fight in this war.
"He knows people who stay in Ukraine," Valentina said. "His mother stay in Kyiv, and many friends stay in Kyiv who need our help."
Valentina is feeling that same pain. Her father and sister are in Ukraine.
"Hard for me," she said.
Upon arrival, Sergey hopes to move loved ones to safety, but also to continue a family legacy of community service.
Since 2014, he and Valentina have helped support Ukrainian families of lost soldiers. Valentina is an interior designer, and together, the two have helped build housing or secure donations for those families.
Sergey Korenev is bringing thousands of dollars in U.S. donations to help Ukrainians again, according to The Guardian.
"We want [to] save Ukraine," Valentina said.