American veterans volunteer to fight in Ukraine.
Hector, who lives
in Tampa Bay, Fla., is a former United States Marine who served two violent
tours in Iraq. On Friday, he boarded a plane for one more deployment, this time
as a volunteer in Ukraine.
He checked in
several bags filled with rifle scopes, helmets and body armor donated by other
veterans. “I can help right now,” said Hector, who asked to be identified only
his first name for security reasons.
Hector is part of
a surge of American veterans who say they are now preparing to join the
fight in Ukraine, emboldened by the invitation of the country’s
president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who earlier this week announced he was
creating an “international legion” and asked volunteers from around the world
to help defend his nation against Russia.
David Ribardo, a
former Army officer who owns a property management business in Allentown, Pa.,
is acting as a sort of middle man for a group called Volunteers for
Ukraine, identifying veterans and other volunteers with useful skills and
connecting them with donors who buy gear and airline tickets.
Fund-raising
sites such as GoFundMe have rules against collecting money for armed conflict,
so Mr. Ribardo said his group connects those he has vetted with people who want
to donate, describing his role as being “a Tinder for veterans and donors.”
Veterans said
they are driven by past experiences. Some want to try to recapture the intense
clarity and purpose they felt in war, which is often missing in suburban life.
Others want a chance to make amends for failed missions in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and see the fight to defend a democracy against a totalitarian
invader as the reason they joined the military.
On Thursday, the
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, told the Russian
News Agency that foreign fighters would not be considered soldiers, but
mercenaries, and would not be protected under humanitarian rules regarding the
treatment of prisoners of war.
“At best, they
can expect to be prosecuted as criminals,” Mr. Konashenkov said.
U.S. officials
have been trying to steer Americans toward other methods of support. During a
news conference this week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said people who
want to help Ukraine can do so by supporting nongovernmental organizations that
are providing humanitarian assistance and “by being advocates for Ukraine and
for peaceful resolution to this crisis that was created by Russia.”
This is Russia's great nightmare. Hundreds of thousands of ex soldiers from all over the world come to kill Russians. NATO sending their own 'Little Green Men' rockets and military grade firearms. Russia can't defeat an army of 400,000 outsiders, it would decimate the Red army.
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