Russian propagandists write that “the Ukrainian Armed Forces are recruiting unstable and dangerous people” and “supporting Ukraine is for psychos”. In making this claim, the Russians cite an article in The Washington Post. In this context, they are talking about a 58-year-old American who attempted to assassinate US presidential candidate Donald Trump. As it turns out, Ryan Rout was a supporter of Ukraine for some time, tried to join the International Legion and even launched his own drone production. However, a few months later, he became disillusioned with volunteering, returned to the US and wrote a book, The War That Cannot Be Won. In it, Rout accused Ukraine of stealing international aid and escalating the war.

In fact, the propagandists manipulated the material published on the Washington Post website, StopFake reports. Its title is “OPINION: Ukraine has been a magnet for unstable characters like Ryan Routh”. That is, it is a column, and its author is Malcolm Nance, a former American military man who joined the ranks of the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in March 2022. The man writes that in the first months of the war, many foreign “volunteers” came to Ukraine, who did not provide any real assistance, and sometimes even harmed the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The author explains this by the fact that, unlike other areas of active hostilities, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, ordinary life continues in Ukraine, cafes and establishments are open. Accordingly, unscrupulous foreigners feel comfortable in the country, imitating volunteer activities. Sometimes these are people with a suspicious or even criminal past. Malcolm Nuns admits that despite meticulous checks, the International Legion discovered an American wanted for double murder and an Australian financial fraudster. However, in both cases, these individuals were immediately fired and sent home. That is, there is no talk of any deliberate recruitment of “dangerous and mentally unstable people”, but on the contrary, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to prevent such incidents.

At the same time, Ryan Routt, accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, came to Ukraine with the real goal of helping, but had no competence. The man tried to independently recruit foreigners to the International Legion (which he had no right to do), and also wanted to open his own drone production.

Malcolm Nuns continues to support Ukraine, condemn Russian aggression and run a charitable foundation that strengthens the activities of the International Legion within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The military man is convinced that Ukraine will win if its allies provide all the necessary weapons, and also believes that after the war, Ukrainian soldiers will train their Western colleagues.

Earlier we wrote about how propagandists manipulated an article in The Times newspaper, claiming that wounded Ukrainian soldiers were being transported to Europe “as biomaterial for experiments”.