Americans with military backgrounds are thought to be in Ukraine "battling Russian forces beside both Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries even though US forces aren’t directly involved in fighting aside from sending military materiel, humanitarian aid and money," Politico has said in a piece, according to the Russian TAAS news agency.
According to the news outlet, US national Harrison Jozefowicz, an Army veteran and a former Chicago police officer, heads a group called Task Force Yankee. He said that the group had "placed more than 190 volunteers in combat slots and other roles while delivering nearly 15,000 first aid kits, helping relocate more than 80 families and helping deliver dozens of pallets of food and medical supplies to the southern and eastern fronts of the war." Jozefowicz claims that there are thousands of American and other volunteers in Ukraine.
Politico also said that Ukraine’s embassy in Washington was "fielding inquiries from thousands of Americans who want to help in the fight, and Ukraine is using the internet to recruit volunteers for a foreign force, the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine."
The Russian Investigative Committee said on April 27 that at least 16 armed groups consisting of mercenaries from 50 countries had been formed in Ukraine.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country.
The media also reported on Monday that another US soldier was killed in the Ukraine war. Willie Joseph Kansel is the first US citizen whose death during the conflict in Ukraine was officially recognized.
KI/PR