'It's In His DNA': Norwalk Man Fights Alongside Ukrainian Army

NORWALK, CT — A Norwalk resident has left his job and family to help Ukraine fend off attacks from Russia — and he's documenting the war on Twitter, with an ever-growing number of followers.

Army veteran James Vasquez, 47, tweeted on Feb. 24 that he intended to fight alongside Ukrainian soldiers. He arrived in the country earlier this month, The Daily Mail reported, and has been tweeting pictures and videos of his efforts ever since.

In a now-viral video posted on Thursday, Vasquez depicts what he claims is a destroyed Russian tank.

"This village has been Russian occupied for a month, they terrorized the people and took their food," Vasquez tweeted along with the video. "Today we entered, took out 7 tanks and countless Russians thus liberating these people."

Vasquez, who has amassed over 170,000 Twitter followers as of Friday afternoon, said he has been well-received in Ukraine — though he said Ukrainian soldiers were initially shocked to see an American passport, The New York Post reported.

He said he has yet to see another American, the Post reported.

In another tweet, Vasquez posted a picture of himself and a soldier from the United Kingdom training a group of Ukrainian soldiers, American Military News reported.

"It's really an honor to be fighting with these fine men," he said in the tweet.

Vasquez's wife, Tina Vasquez, told The Daily Mail that James is a former U.S. Army staff sergeant who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

"It's in his DNA — it's what he loves to do," Vasquez told The New York Post. "He did the same thing after 9/11, rushed in to help. That's just who he is — he's my hero."