Trump's diplomacy with Russia has left some US soldiers fighting in Ukraine puzzled

Boston Globe

3 days ago

Just weeks into his deployment, that conviction collided with a bitter political reality back home.
'It was embarrassing, coming over here, sacrificing so much — then seeing our top leaders behaving that way,' Abeyta told The Boston Globe in early May, referring to the acrimonious White House meeting among President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Feb. 28.
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Many American fighters like Abeyta who are embedded in Ukraine front lines told the Globe they have been left angry and disillusioned by Trump's erratic position on Ukraine, as the president alternates at times between threats and diplomacy.
More than three years into the war, Americans are continuing to join the Ukrainian army to battle Russia, seeing themselves as protectors of democracy and freedom. But Trump's tough stand on Ukraine has been seen as an ideological betrayal by many who want the US to take a more aggressive approach to defending Ukraine. At the same time, they are hopeful Trump's growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin — combined with Ukraine's latest battlefield victories — could mount more pressure on Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
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Just two weeks ago, after a two-hour call between Trump and Putin on May 19, there had been cautious optimism that a ceasefire deal might be within reach.
'For me and my teammates, it was a breath of fresh air that direct communication was finally occurring between Trump and Putin,' Abeyta said in a phone interview from Ukraine.
But this Sunday Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russian air bases on the eve of cease-fire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey. A swarm of explosive-laden drones hidden inside wooden cabins mounted on cargo trucks were smuggled deep into Russian territory and launched remotely. Ukraine's domestic Security Service, USB, claimed the covert operation, codenamed Spider Web, destroyed about 40 long-range Russian bombers, marking one of the most decisive victories for Ukraine.
The attack came a week after Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine, with a barrage of 355 drones, prompting Trump to threaten Russia with new sanctions.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, scores of American fighters have joined Ukraine's armed forces. Early in the war, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said over 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries had enlisted in the International Legion.
Today, the exact number of American fighters is unknown. The Ground Forces command under the International Legion, the military unit that recruits foreigners, did not respond to a request on the current number of Americans serving or new registrations since the start of this year. Brigade commanders, press officers, and volunteers on the ground cited security reasons for withholding numbers but said interest remains strong and recruitment of foreigners is ongoing.
The Globe conducted face-to face and telephone interviews with nearly a dozen Americans, as well as other fighters from Western countries, based in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, and Kherson. Among them were men in their early 20s who have arrived without any military experience, as well as US Army veterans who joined Ukraine early in the war.
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Mark J. Lindquist, 43, from Minnesota, has been volunteering in Ukraine since March 2022. He said there was definitely a big spike in volunteers when the war started and then it dipped after August 2022.
'There were thousands who circled through. They come in, serve for six months and go back,' said Lindquist, a US Air Force veteran who served from 2006 to 2012.
Putin's invasion in February 2022 marked the largest ground war in Europe since World War II and triggered a geopolitical crisis that
shows no sign of resolution. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed or wounded on both sides.
Russia currently occupies a fifth of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has accepted a full 30-day unconditional cease-fire proposed by the US, but Russia rejected it. Putin wants to retain the territorial gains he has made and wants Kyiv to accept the loss of Crimea. He has also demanded that Ukrainian troops retreat from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblast regions in Ukraine.
American volunteers said their mission is simple — stand up to tyranny.
'I am here because the American way is to aid,' said another American soldier in Kharkiv, who asked to be identified by his call sign, Oracle, 23, out of fear for his family's safety.
A US Army veteran, who served three years in the 10th Mountain Division, Oracle said he has been in Ukraine since October to 'kick the bully's ass.'
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A former Trump supporter, he said he was angry about the way Trump was handling the Ukraine issue.
'This complete turnaround, 180 degree (turn) of cutting all ties and supplies to Ukraine; it is almost like he is wanting Ukraine to lose,' he said.
Irrespective of what the Trump government does, Oracle said, he is not afraid to die fighting.
'I have done everything in my life I wanted to except start a family. I have come to terms with the fact that no matter what I do, in the end I am going to die.'
Many Americans who have been in Ukraine since the start of the war said they have no intention of leaving — no matter how long the war drags on.
Rebekah Maciorowski, 30, a combat medic from Denver, has been in Ukraine since March 2022. Now serving as the chief medic with Ukraine's 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade in Kherson Oblast, she said her mission remains unchanged, regardless of what unfolds in Washington.
'What I can do right now to help Ukraine is doing the exact same thing that I have been doing, without giving up,' she said.
She said the Ukrainian soldiers she treats are also focused on survival and resistance.
'They know nobody is coming to save them. So, they will keep fighting. And so do we.'
In Kharkiv, another US veteran, Zachary Jaynes, 31, from South Carolina, said he has thought about going back home a few times but could not.
'You cannot really move on and find peace when missiles are still raining down on you and your friends,' said Jaynes, a former Army Ranger who has served in Afghanistan.
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A 2021 Dartmouth graduate, Jaynes said he was seeking peace at a silent meditation retreat in a Buddhist monastery in Nepal when the war broke out.
He faced a choice.
'Stay tucked away in the mountains and away from my past, or go back into the abyss and use my experience and skills from Afghanistan to do a little bit of good,' he said, recalling his thought process.
He chose the latter.
'Now, I have found peace in a strange way — by coming here and being exactly where I should be and doing what exactly I should be doing,' he said.
The motivation of Americans who willingly embrace the treacherous trenches and horrors of bloodshed vary. Ukrainian officers who command units with foreign fighters said there are 'democracy defenders' who believe in a just cause, but there are also those who want to run away from the harsh realities of life back home.
'There are three types of people here. Those who come for money, for politics, and those crazies looking for adventure. All three types are welcome here,' said Commander Baiev Anton of the 13th Khartiia Brigade.
His unit includes soldiers from at least 13 countries — the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy among them.
They make a real difference, he said.
'It is a morale boost. Their presence raises the morale of Ukrainian soldiers. It is a message that they are not alone in this fight,' he said.
Meanwhile, on the northern front lines in Kharkiv that border Russia, Trump's shifting policies on Ukraine have reverberated.
'As soon as that White House meeting occurred, we started getting artillery barrages. We kept getting hit by drones a lot more,' said Abeyta.
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'Trump's direct involvement translates to the number and intensity of attacks our units receive,' he added.
This reporting was supported by the International Women's Media Foundation's Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine's Unseen Frontlines Initiative in partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.