Ukraine, the wave of American warriors fighting against Putin (and putting Washington in crisis)

Lynn Perkins has reached the border between Ukraine and Poland last week, making their way through cars and buses crowded with refugees from the West. Ambulances and foreign fighters, like him, ventured east, toward the warmer front. To the south, near the Ukrainian border with Romania, Zachary Burghart and Mark Turner concluded a six-day mission that began with the delivery of medical supplies, but it took an unexpected turn when authorities suspected the Americans were two saboteurs. RussiansThey arrested and interrogated them. These are just some of the testimonials I collected Washington Post from the great wave ancient warrior Army United States of America That, despite management warnings BidenJoin the Ukrainian resistance.

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Parallel Army

Some, like Perkins, want to confront Putin’s army head-on. Others, including Burghart and Turner, provided military and first aid training, transporting humanitarian supplies and making contacts for future American volunteers. “This is a noble cause,” said Perkins, a Navy veteran who resides in San Diego. While President Biden has repeatedly stated that his forces will not be drawn into conflict, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government has enlisted Western veterans to bolster the fledgling Ukraine International Regional Defense Corps.

It is estimated that about 20,000 foreigners have expressed interest in the initiative. About 4,000 of them are Americans, at least according to a Ukrainian embassy official in the US, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is considered very sensitive in Washington. It is unclear how many people could join the Kyiv resistance. American involvement in the war likely extended beyond Zelensky’s Foreign Legion. But regardless, these “volunteer” armies are at great risk. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, called everyone who helps Ukrainian forces from other countries “mercenaries”, saying that anyone caught “at best” can expect to be “tried as a criminal”.