Rut roh! Things could be gettin' real messy
Despite risks and official warnings, U.S. military veterans are joining the Ukrainian war effort.
Lane Perkins arrived at the Ukraine-Poland border last week to a crush of traffic. Cars and buses crammed with refugees rolled west. Ambulances and foreign fighters, like him, ventured east.
To the south, near Ukraine’s border with Romania, Zachary Burgart and Mark Turner wrapped up a six-day mission that began with delivering medical supplies and took an unexpected turn when authorities, suspicious that the two Americans were Russian saboteurs, arrested and interrogated them.
They are among the wave of U.S. military veterans who, despite warnings from the Biden administration, have inserted themselves into a foreign war. Some, like Perkins, want to take on the Russians directly. Others, including Burgart and Turner, have sought less risky ways to get involved, offering military and first-aid training, hauling humanitarian supplies, and setting up contacts for future American volunteers to assist Ukrainians.
“This,” said Perkins, a Navy veteran who resides in San Diego, “is a noble cause.”
While President Biden has said repeatedly and emphatically that U.S. troops will not be pulled into the conflict, the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky has actively recruited Western military veterans to join its newly formed International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. An estimated 20,000 foreigners have expressed interest, the Ukrainians say. About 4,000 are Americans, said an official with the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the issue is seen as highly sensitive in Washington. It’s unclear how many may follow through.
To the south, near Ukraine’s border with Romania, Zachary Burgart and Mark Turner wrapped up a six-day mission that began with delivering medical supplies and took an unexpected turn when authorities, suspicious that the two Americans were Russian saboteurs, arrested and interrogated them.
They are among the wave of U.S. military veterans who, despite warnings from the Biden administration, have inserted themselves into a foreign war. Some, like Perkins, want to take on the Russians directly. Others, including Burgart and Turner, have sought less risky ways to get involved, offering military and first-aid training, hauling humanitarian supplies, and setting up contacts for future American volunteers to assist Ukrainians.
But regardless which group Americans may join, they face significant risk. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, has characterized outsiders aiding Ukrainian forces as “mercenaries,” saying anyone who is caught “at best” can expect “to be prosecuted as criminals.”
U.S. veterans detailed a variety of motivations for joining the effort. Some expressed horror at imagery appearing to show Russian forces indiscriminately bombing Ukrainian civilians. Others said they want to prove themselves in combat after missing out on such opportunities during their military careers.
“For me personally, this feels so unprovoked,” said Burgart, who saw combat in Iraq while serving in elite Marine Corps reconnaissance units. “It’s just insanity to me. I don’t want insane people to be able to do insane things in the world.”
Generally, becoming a foreign fighter is legal in the United States, Malet said. So long as Americans do not take up arms for a violent group that opposes the U.S. government, there are few restrictions.
“For me personally, this feels so unprovoked,” said Burgart, who saw combat in Iraq while serving in elite Marine Corps reconnaissance units. “It’s just insanity to me. I don’t want insane people to be able to do insane things in the world.”
By Germaine: the war correspondent stationed behind the dangerous digital lines in his family room
Comments
Post a Comment