More than 3,000 in US apply to join Ukrainian forces: Report

Thousands of U.S. nationals have signed up to join the Ukrainian military as the country attempts to fight off the Russian incursion, reports say.

Ukraine has received more than 3,000 applications from people in the United States who want to fight, several of whom are military veterans, a defense official with the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., told the Military Times on Thursday.

"If you are determined to go, be professional, responsible, and realistic in your expectations," a former SEAL-turned-CIA officer who goes by Frumentarius said. "Follow the Ukrainian government's advice about how to officially register, and do not go there telling them where and how you want to participate in the fighting. ... You are not Rambo, there to single-handedly slay Russians and post your selfies."

EXPERTS FEAR DANGEROUS PUTIN CLOSING IN ON 'UNWINNABLE WAR' WITH 'NO OFF-RAMP'

Those U.S. fighters are a part of the roughly 16,000 foreigners who have volunteered to join the military, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a video posted to his Telegram channel Thursday.

“We have nothing to lose but our own freedom,” the president said.

Other members of his Cabinet have reiterated the calls for foreigners to come and join the fight, though the U.S. government has advised against it.

“This is not the place for Americans to be in Ukraine right now, and the State Department has made that very clear in urging over so many weeks for Americans that are in Ukraine to leave, and urging Americans not in Ukraine not to go,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday.

“Should Americans want to help Ukraine, and it’s laudable that they do, but the best way to do that is to find ways to contribute to the many nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations

Something to consider:

MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. None of the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine to fight for the nationalist regime will enjoy the right of combatants under international humanitarian law, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

“I wish to make an official statement that none of the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine to fight for the nationalist regime in Kiev can be considered as combatants in accordance with international humanitarian law or enjoy the status of prisoners of war,” Konashenkov stressed.

He warned that all foreign mercenaries, detained in Ukraine, would be brought to justice on criminal charges.

If private citizen Americans wanted to go to our own Southern border and assist ICE, could they do that?
I doubt it, w/o being at least ‘deputized’ first.
What gives us or any foreigner the right to pop up in the Ukraine and ask for a gun there? Zelensky should be careful he’s not welcoming “Russians with a plan” into his fighting forces.

[EXPERTS FEAR DANGEROUS PUTIN CLOSING IN ON ‘UNWINNABLE WAR’ WITH ‘NO OFF-RAMP’]

Holy clickbait headline, Batman. There’s always an off-ramp. If internal ructions arise, he will withdraw to deal with his enemies.

The amusing thing about Hollywood productions is the idea that foreign wars unify the population. That is the opposite of the truth. War abroad requires peace at home, because war requires unevenly-distributed sacrifice and the demographics hurt the most tend to scream bloody murder. That is why after being bushwhacked and then defeated by the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russians backed off instead of trying to take Tokyo and execute the Emperor. If they had put their backs into it, Russia could have conquered Japan.

Russia’s problem was internal turmoil. In fact, that internal turmoil continued to cause problems while it fought WWI, leading ultimately to the October Revolution. Putin is looking abroad precisely because his enemies at home are prostrate at his feet, not because they are lunging for his throat.

Putin’s not a dumb guy. He has feelers out all the time. If he feels revolution is in the air, he’ll retreat to Russia and focus on killing his internal enemies. There will be other opportunities to go after Ukraine.

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