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American veteran James Vasquez made the decision to go fight in Ukraine on the first day of the war. After packing the equipment he headed towards the country attacked by Russia. He also opened a Twitter account where he shares his experience with his followers.
Dressed in a suit, American veteran James Vasquez is attending a meeting to raise funds for Ukraine. He tells VOA that he will feel more comfortable in uniform when he returns to Ukraine next month.
“I’m used to hearing air raid sirens there, where every day you are a target of fire and bombing. Being here seems somewhat strange to me.”
From the very first day of the war, James decided to go to Ukraine.
“The only reason why I was not there on the 25th (February) is because my passport had expired and I need to renew it. I arrived there on March 14.”
Mr. Vasquez says the decision to go to Ukraine was easy. His Latvian-born grandmother had told him many stories about Russian soldiers.
“All the members of my grandmother’s family were massacred by the Russians. My grandmother was taken to a labor camp, where she sewed Russian uniforms.”
Immediately after arriving in Ukraine, he was deployed to the front line of the battle in the Kiev region. His unit liberated villages where the Russian army had laid landmines for the civilian population.
“Their target was the civilian population and not the fighters. A string of wire tied between the bomb in a glass jar and the door of a shelf in the kitchen, so that when you open it the bomb explodes.”
He serves alongside the Ukrainians, whom he calls brothers and says there are no language barriers.
“Many of them speak little English. So we can somehow communicate with each other”.
His unit was moved from Kiev to Donbas. While in Ukraine, he began raising funds for the fighters. Now he is working with the American charity foundation “Ripley’s Heroes”.
“We are not buying weapons and ammunition, but protective equipment such as bulletproof vests. We are buying drones because the tools are very important”.
James Vasquez has returned to the United States to sell everything he owns and then return to Ukraine. He says that Ukraine has become his second home and wants to stay there for the reconstruction of the country after the victory.
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