Trump shooter’s volunteer past in Ukraine: from supporter to critic

Ukrainian Babel online media outlet reported the story of the man who allegedly targeted former President Donald Trump in an assassination attempt in Florida.

On September 15, 2024, shots were fired at a golf club where US presidential candidate Donald Trump was playing. Although Trump was unharmed, the FBI suspects it was an assassination attempt. Western media reported that police arrested 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, an American with a criminal record. He has been charged with numerous offenses, including illegal possession of weapons of mass destruction, resisting police, hit-and-run, and possession of stolen goods. A day after the shooting, Ryan was charged with two additional weapons-related offenses.

Ryan is often described in the media as a staunch supporter of Ukraine. In April 2022, he traveled to the country to volunteer and likely started a memorial with flags on Independence Square. Ryan also attempted to establish his own drone production line and create a battalion of Afghans hiding from the Taliban. However, on social media, he was accused of fraud. By September 2023, Ryan returned to the United States, and in February, he published a book titled Ukraine’s Unwinnable War, expressing his disillusionment with Ukrainians, calling them ‘ungrateful communists.’

Babel journalist Sofiia Korotunenko read this book. In short, Ryan is definitely not on the side of Ukraine in this war, she concluded.

In the US, Ryan faced several criminal charges. A Guilford police officer recounted stopping Ryan near his workshop because his driver's license had been revoked. Ryan allegedly brandished a gun at the officer, leading to a standoff that lasted three hours before he was arrested. Police seized an illegally owned automatic weapon, and Ryan was also charged with hit-and-run and possession of stolen goods. In 2019, he and two others were evicted from a house where they were allegedly squatting without permission.

In April 2022, Ryan arrived in Kyiv, initially aiming to volunteer on the front lines, but his lack of military experience and age barred him from joining the foreign legion. He moved into a dormitory at a military unit in Kyiv, hoping to recruit fighters. He then established the International Volunteer Centre on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, pitching a tent and displaying flags representing countries of fallen foreign volunteers. He also left a book for people to share stories of the deceased.

Ryan is believed to have started the flag memorial on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, an effort his fiancée mentioned in a GoFundMe campaign in May 2022. She claimed Ryan had sent 120 drones to the frontline along with tactical gear. However, after five months in Ukraine, Ryan became frustrated with Ukrainians and the government. He alleged that the Kyiv police destroyed his volunteer headquarters multiple times and that Ukrainians removed his tent and posters.

Afterward, Ryan staged a protest demanding the release of Azov soldiers under siege in Mariupol. According to him, all protesters were arrested, but he was released because he was an American. The Azov brigade later denied any connection with Ryan. He claims he was subsequently barred from Maidan and relocated his headquarters to Sofia Square, where a Ukrainian flag replaced his memorial flags.

In the summer of 2022, Ryan gathered a team of engineers to design drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but the project collapsed. He had collaborators from various countries, but disagreements stalled progress. Ryan ultimately built a prototype himself, only to be banned from testing it in Kyiv, forcing him to travel to Mykolaiv. However, even there, he was not allowed to test the drones, and he realized that cooperation with Ukrainians was unlikely.

Returning to the US, Ryan shifted his focus to recruiting Afghans for a foreign battalion in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He claimed to be in talks with Ukrainian officials like Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov. He sought Afghan volunteers through Facebook, requesting personal data, CVs, and passports, which he allegedly submitted to the Ukrainian government. Volunteers were required to pay for their own visas and travel expenses. On social media, Ryan faced accusations of fraud, and the Ukrainian International Legion stated he had no official connection with them.

In March 2023, Ryan told a New York Times journalist he planned to smuggle Afghans into Ukraine and was forging passports. He also claimed to have met with the Helsinki Commission in Washington, though there is no evidence of this. In his last Facebook post in July 2024, Ryan wrote that he was still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan soldiers. His social media accounts are now blocked.

In 2023, Ryan published Ukraine’s Unwinnable War, arguing that Ukraine is unlikely to win. He claimed that if Ukrainians hadn't defeated Russia in eight years, they lacked the unity to succeed. He predicted a protracted conflict lasting decades and accused Ukraine of profiting from international aid. Ryan wrote that Ukrainians sold tanks and military equipment to foreigners and had no incentive to end the war.

Ryan blamed both Russia and Ukraine for the invasion, asserting that Ukraine’s failure to resolve the conflict over the previous eight years effectively invited Russia to attack. He believed that a referendum could have ended the conflict by allowing regions to choose between ‘democracy or communism.’ Ryan also argued that foreign volunteers were not fighting Russians but Ukrainians, whom he claimed still held a ‘communist mindset.’

Ryan viewed himself as having failed in his efforts, calling Ukrainians "children of communists" who misunderstood democracy and free enterprise. He stated that foreigners had to "win the battle" against this mindset. Ryan saw himself as defeated by communism and said there were thousands of Afghan soldiers ready to fight in Ukraine, but both the US and Ukraine hindered his efforts.

Evelyn Aschenbrenner, a former employee of the Ukrainian International Legion, called Ryan "a nutcase and a liar." She said he pressured her for over two years to illegally transport Afghans to Ukraine. When she refused, Ryan accused her of undermining Ukraine’s cause. Aschenbrenner described Ryan as delusional, saying his actions were disastrous for Ukraine.