‘I’ve stopped counting how many people I killed’. Americans fighting in Ukraine describe their exper

From hotels to crumbling cellars, from the US army to the Ukrainian one: Since 2022, thousands of Americans have headed to Ukraine to fight, serve as medics, or help with war logistics. We speak to a drone operator who learned how to kill in Ukraine, a lawyer who evacuates Ukrainian civilians from war zones, and a former government official who became disillusioned with America and discovered a new homeland in Ukraine. All of them not only found something meaningful there, but are also writing a

‘Milk’ (his military nickname) admitted that he had never had much luck in life. He actually considered himself a real jinx. Since childhood he had longed to be a soldier. But after a few months he badly twisted his ankle and his military career was over. Since then he scraped by as best he could. He worked on farms and in forests, provided first aid in the mountains, then went back to farms again. He was born in the US state of Illinois, where there is not much to be found apart from corn farms. The desire to become a soldier, however, never left Milk. When Russian tanks began rolling across Ukraine’s borders in February 2022, the American concluded that even if his lousy ankle had been a problem for the US army, it might not be for the Ukrainian one. The country was fighting for its survival and, on the third day of the full-scale invasion, president Volodymyr Zelensky called on foreign volunteers to join the fight for freedom. Only two obstacles now stood in Milk’s way. Money for his very first plane ticket outside the United States.

Key points

• ‘Milk’ (his military nickname) admitted that he had never had much luck in life.
• He actually considered himself a real jinx.
• Since childhood he had longed to be a soldier.
• But after a few months he badly twisted his ankle and his military career was over.
• Since then he scraped by as best he could.