American Veteran Fighting in Ukraine Shares Footage After Freeing Village, Taking Out Tanks
An American Army veteran fighting in Ukraine is documenting the operations of the country’s defenders on social media.
James Vasquez departed the United States in mid-March.
Vasquez and his platoon liberated a village on Thursday. The 47-year-old American posted a video indicating his unit neutralized seven Russian tanks and “countless” Russians.
This village has been Russian occupied for a month, they terrorized the people and took their food. Today we entered, took out 7 tanks and countless Russians thus liberating these people pic.twitter.com/0Fm3qHdepB
— James Vasquez (@jmvasquez1974) March 24, 2022
Vasquez posed in front of a smoldering vehicle he identified as a Russian tank, although he may be referring to an infantry fighting vehicle.
“I don’t know if you guys know what this is behind me, but that’s a Russian tank. A Russian tank that was taken out.”
One of Vasquez’s Ukrainian comrades celebrates the victory by alluding to Vasquez’s nationality, before the men share a laugh.
“Welcome to America!”
The Army veteran has shared his experience fighting against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
— James Vasquez (@jmvasquez1974) March 21, 2022
Vasquez shared imagery of Russian airstrikes targeting infrastructure in the city of Lviv.
— James Vasquez (@jmvasquez1974) March 18, 2022
The experienced soldier would later move to the frontline combat zone of the conflict.
The Daily Mail interviewed Vasquez’s wife, who explained the motives of her husband, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
“It’s in his DNA, and he approached me, came to me after work, and said, ‘We need to talk, I can’t watch this on TV, I need to go help these guys,'” she said.
“Go ahead, just make sure you come home,” Tina replied, according to the Mail. “This is what he needs to do, and I need to support him.”
Tina Vasquez told the New York Post that she’s been “overwhelmed” by the support for her and her husband in their home state of Connecticut, where Vasquez is a home renovation contractor.
The veteran has declined interviews, stating that he isn’t fighting for Ukraine in an attempt for recognition.
Vasquez, who was a staff sergeant in the US Army, has documented the conflict while respecting operational security concerns.
— James Vasquez (@jmvasquez1974) March 21, 2022
The Ukrainian government is accepting foreign volunteers in the conflict, with internationals across the world spurred to help Ukraine fight back against Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression.
One British national — who has fought with Ukrainian marines for years — is sharing updates from Mariupol, a besieged city thought to be the bloodiest combat zone in the war.
Varying casualty estimates all pin Russian combat deaths in the thousands, with an American estimate pointing to 7,000 fatalities.
The Ukrainian armed forces have shown the capability to strike back at Russia, nearly a month into Putin’s invasion.
Ukrainian drones destroyed a Russian warship unloading war material for Mariupol on Thursday morning.
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