Responding to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s calls to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia, US veterans say that they are “ready to go”, telling The Independent’s Rachel Sharp that they feel it is their “duty as Americans” to join Ukrainian troops in defending the nation from Russian aggression, which they call “an attack on freedom worldwide.”
Zelensky on Sunday made an appeal to foreign nationals to travel to Ukraine and fight “side by side” with its troops as part of its newly-formed International Legion of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine.
Since then, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar has said that several thousand people from across the globe have volunteered to join the resistance to the Russian occupiers and protect world security from the Putin regime,” The Independent reported.
However, a lack of direction from Ukrainian officials could be wasting precious time to save the country.
Former US Army and Marine members told The Independent that their attempts to join the resistance are being held up by red tape and a lack of direction from officials – delays that could ultimately cost Ukrainians their freedom.