The Ukrainian embassy in Washington, DC is taking on an unexpected role as a recruiting center for Americans who want to join the fight against the invasion of russia.
Diplomats who work at the embassy, in a row house in the Georgetown section of the US capital, receive thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the much more pressing matter of securing arms for Ukraine. fend. a increasingly brutal russian ramming.
“They really feel that this war is unjust, unprovoked,” said Ukraine’s military attache, Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi. “They feel like they have to go and help.”
American volunteers represent only a small subset of foreign nationals seeking to fight for Ukraine, who in turn comprise only a small fraction of the international assistance that has flowed into the country. Still, it’s a reflection of the passion, supercharged in an age of social media, that the attack and increased civilian casualties have stirred
“These are not mercenaries who come to make money,” Kremenetskyi said. “These are people of good will who come to help Ukraine fight for freedom.”
The US government discourages Americans from going to fight in Ukraine, raising legal and national security concerns.
Given that the february 24 invasionthe embassy in Washington has heard from at least 6,000 people inquiring about volunteering for the service, the “vast majority” of them US citizens, said Kremenetskyi, who oversees the screening of potential US recruits.
Half of the potential volunteers were quickly turned away and didn’t even make it to a Zoom interview, the general said. They lacked the required military experience, had a criminal record, or were unfit for other reasons such as age, including a 16-year-old boy and a 73-year-old man.
Some who expressed interest were turned away because the embassy said it could not conduct a proper investigation. The general did not disclose the methods used to test people.
Kremenetskyi, who spoke to The Associated Press just after returning from the Pentagon to discuss the military equipment his country needs for its defense, said he appreciates the support of both the US government and the public.
“The Russians can only be stopped with heavy fists and guns,” he said.
So far, about 100 US citizens have made the cut. They include veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with combat experience, including some helicopter pilots, the attaché said.
They must make their own way to Poland, where they must cross at a specified point, with their own protective equipment but without a weapon, which they will obtain upon arrival. They will be required to sign a contract to serve, without pay, in the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government says some 20,000 foreigners from various nations have already joined.
Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a former Liberal lawmaker from Canada who is helping to facilitate recruitment there, said some 1,000 Canadians have applied to fight for Ukraine, the vast majority of whom have no ties to the country.
“The volunteers, a large proportion are ex-military, these are people who made the difficult decision to enter the military to uphold the values we subscribe to,” Wrzesnewskyj said. “And when they see what is happening in Ukraine, they cannot stand aside.”
It is unclear how many US citizens seeking to fight have made it to Ukraine, a trip the US State Department has urged people not to take.
“We have been very clear for some time, of course, in asking Americans who may have resided in Ukraine to leave, and making it clear to Americans who may be thinking of traveling there, not to leave,” the secretary said. of State, Antony Blinken. he told reporters recently.
In some circumstances, Americans could face criminal penalties, or even risk losing their citizenship, for participating in a conflict abroad, according to a senior US law enforcement official.
U.S. authorities are concerned about what could happen if an American is killed or captured, or is recruited while there to work for a foreign intelligence service upon their return home, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.
Official and independent security experts say some of the potential foreign fighters may be white supremacists, who are believed to be fighting on both sides of the conflict. They could become more radicalized and get military training in Ukraine, which would pose a greater danger when they return home.
“These are men who want adventure, a sense of importance and they go back to the rhetoric of World War II,” said Anne Speckhard, who has studied extensively. foreigners who fought in Syria and elsewhere as director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.