'I just think it's worth the risk': B.C. man quits job as he prepares to fight for Ukraine
A line cook and former tugboat deckhand quit his job and is putting his life on hold to fight Russian troops in war-torn Ukraine.
Bryson Woolsey, from Powell River, B.C., says he expects to ship out for Ukraine next week as he aims to ward off Russian occupiers on Ukrainian soil.
"I'm not trying to walk in there gung-ho or anything, but I just think it’s worth the risk,” said Woolsey on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old says when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put out a call for foreign volunteers, he knew he had to act.
"I'm not going over there with any expectations," he said. "Whatever they need me to do, if that is somewhere in the back with logistics or support, or if that's a frontline combat role, I'm happy to do that. I've weighed those risks."
The B.C. man says he is collecting supplies for his trip and plans to head for Ukraine next week.
He says his family is scared and concerned but supportive of his decision.
'I FELT LIKE SOMEONE PUT A KNIFE IN MY HEART'
In Victoria, another kind of preparation is underway to defend Ukraine from Russian invaders.
Oleh Hlyniailiuk, a Ukrainian tourist, is collecting thousands of dollars worth of medical and military equipment to take home to his family and friends.
Oleh Hlyniailiuk, a Ukrainian tourist, is collecting thousands of dollars worth of medical and military equipment to take home to his family and friends. (CTV News)
"We have no choice," said Hlyniailiuk on Tuesday. "We cannot accept the occupation of Ukraine. It will mean for the world the loss of a democracy."
Hlyniailiuk was in Victoria on Tuesday to shop at military supply store MDC Law Enforcement and Military Equipment Distributors.
He and a friend filled box after box with military grade gloves, boots, medical tourniquets, bandages and other supplies.
“My roommate is now defending Kyiv,” Hlyniailiuk told CTV News.
The 26-year-old plans to fly out of Canada on Wednesday with at least 10 suitcases of gear.
In November, he accepted a friend's invitation to travel to Canada and explore B.C.’s rugged coast.
Once the invasion of his homeland began, he said he had no choice but to cut his trip short and help in any way he could.
He says his girlfriend has escaped explosions near Kyiv and fled to the western part of Ukraine.
"I felt like someone put a knife in my heart, it was so painful," said Hlyniailiuk.
Alec Rossa, the president of the military-supply company, says he will likely give the Ukrainians a deep discount, if he charges them at all, for the gear.
Rossa says he has roughly 40 family members in war-torn Ukraine and wants to help in any way he can.
Alec Rossa, the president of a military-supply company near Victoria, says he will likely give the Ukrainians a deep discount, if he charges them at all, for the gear. (CTV News)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.