Alleged Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh came to Ukraine last year to fight the Russians and make an impact – but was quickly rejected and cast aside after being called a “crazy job” and “off” by the more serious foreign fighters. in the country, several sources involved in the volunteer effort said.
Some had interacted with him personally, while others told The Post they knew his “type” and were “not surprised by it at all.”
“A crazy idiot, but no one is really surprised. There are people like that who show up and desperately want to help and be important,” an American who fought for Ukraine told The Post. “And he was just one of them – just on the crazy side of things.”
The American fighters and volunteers who spoke to The Post requested anonymity for fear of Russian doxxing.
Rouw, 58, had no military experience, but traveled to Ukraine around March 2023, thinking he could still help with the war effort.
One volunteer told The Post that Routh’s alleged use of a GoPro as he took out Trump mainly spoke about his problematic connections to Ukraine, saying there are “too many power hunters” among foreign visitors to Ukraine.
“Many of the people who are here are not really here for Ukraine, they are not really here for the war. They are here to become famous, to live out a fantasy or to feel part of something,” the volunteer said.
“Ukraine is a kind of opportunity for them to finally make it. Unfortunately, I don’t think that helps the vast majority of them.”
When he was rejected by the Ukrainian Foreign Legion – which has recruited thousands of foreigners to fight for Ukraine, he took it upon himself to become a one-man recruitment agency. But even those efforts were met with disdain, sources told The Post.
But he told it Financial times last year that the Ukrainian International Legion rejected him because he was “old” and lacked battlefield expertise, suggesting instead that he would help “recruit and coordinate.”
“Oh man, I knew I recognized that guy,” one volunteer said in a private chat group shared with The Post. “He had a plan where he was going to move people from Afghanistan to Ukraine to fight.”
“I remember Ryan well… but not fondly,” another foreign volunteer wrote, adding a screenshot of a text message conversation with the would-be assassin in which Routh bragged about being “back home” from Ukraine by a adding a grinning, shirtless selfie of he and his apparent girlfriend on the beach wearing a straw hat.
‘Unbalanced and dangerous’
Rebuffed by legitimate Ukrainian volunteer targets, he launched a dubious plan to “recruit” former Afghan commandos who had helped the U.S. take up arms in Ukraine during the 20-year war there, sources told The Post.
He posted about his ambitions on social media.
One fighter said he met Routh and said he got the impression he was “already extremely dark.”
“I met him once, he struck me as unbalanced and dangerous,” the fighter said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Legion said Routh was not formally involved in its efforts.
However, a person with knowledge of the legion’s recruitment efforts said “anyone” can claim to be involved in the war effort by showing up and stepping in front of a camera.
“I can personally say that it is not the same as recruiting for the military in the United States,” the person said. “Often when someone joins the unit, he or she is simply referred by someone else within the unit or by someone outside the unit who knows people within the unit. That’s how it usually goes.”
“He took it upon himself to direct people towards the International Legion – that seems to be the extent of his recruitment duties for the International Legion.”
Routh has appeared in several major international publications – including the New York Times, Semafor And Newsweek Romania – wanted to make claims and criticize the Ukrainians for opposing his apparently unsolicited advice to strengthen the Foreign Legion rosters.
“Mr. Routh, who spent several months in Ukraine last year, said he planned to move them, in some cases illegally, from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine. He said dozens had expressed interest,” the New York Times reported in March 2023.
“We can probably buy some passports through Pakistan because it is such a corrupt country,” he told the Times.
But when these ideas were met with skepticism, he became frustrated and told Semafor that the Ukrainians were too rigid in their demands to admit foreign fighters.
“Ukraine is often difficult to work with. Many foreign soldiers leave after a week in Ukraine or have to move from unit to unit to find a place where they are respected and appreciated,” he told Semafor. Every time he suggested eavesdropping on Afghan commandos, he was yelled at. “They’re afraid everyone is a Russian spy,” he said in frustration.
“Most Ukrainian authorities don’t want these soldiers,” Routh told Semafor. “I met partners [Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense] every week and have still not been able to get them to issue a single visa.”
‘Messiah complex’
Other organizations in Ukraine with which Routh claimed ties have also disowned him. That includes the International Volunteer Center, which Routh claimed he led in a Semafor article. The group said they had no dealings or ties with him.
“We have been officially registered as an organization in Ukraine since October 2023. Prior to recent developments, none of us had any knowledge of Mr. Routh or any other entity called the International Volunteer Center, other than our own registered organization,” the spokesperson said. center said.
“We assume that Mr. Routh has not established any organization in Ukraine called the International Volunteer Center.”
Similarly, the Ukrainian Azov Brigade denied its ties to Routh after a video of him attending a rally in support of the Mariupol garrison circulated online, stating that the “peaceful demonstration he attended was open and anyone could participate.” He was accidentally caught on the video being filmed by the protesters.”
“We believe that the spread of the story about the possible connection between Azov and Ryan Wesley Routh plays along with Russian propaganda and the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine and the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in general discredits. ‘, said a message to X on Monday.
Now many American fighters and volunteers in Ukraine tell The Post they fear that reports of the so-called potential killer’s efforts in Ukraine could crush critical American support for the war on which their lives depend.
“This will not be good for support for Ukraine, to what extent I cannot say,” a member of the Foreign Legion told The Post, adding that he thought Routh had a “Messiah complex.”
“I can tell you, however, that this is absolutely bad. It doesn’t help.”
His involvement in Ukraine has already been used by Russian officials and other propagandists to spread disinformation about foreign aid to Kiev.
“I wonder what would happen if it turned out that the failed new Trump shooter Routh, who recruited mercenaries for the Ukrainian army, was himself hired by the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev for this assassination attempt?” Former Russian Prime Minister and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, wrote in a message to X on Monday.
