Transgender American Suspended from Ukrainian Military
A transgender American who has been serving as a representative of Ukraine’s armed forces has been suspended after making comments that were perceived as a threat to Americans who have opposed U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine did not specify what Junior Sgt. Sarah Ashton-Cirillo said that led to his suspension, but recent comments threatened those who spread Russian “propaganda.”
“Next week, the teeth of the Russian devils will gnash ever harder, and their rabid mouths will foam in uncontrollable frenzy as the world will see a favored Kremlin propagandist pay for their crimes,” Ashton-Cirillo said last week, according to the Daily Mail.
“And this puppet of Putin is only the first. Russia’s war criminal propagandists will all be hunted down, and justice will be served as we in Ukraine are led on this mission by faith in God, liberty and complete liberation,” he said.
A transgender former US soldier who goes by Sarah Ashton-Cirillo recently moved to Ukraine to become the English-speaking spokesman for the Ukrainian military.
Ashton-Cirillo is now taking to social media threatening to hunt down and kill those who criticize the country’s… pic.twitter.com/X4F8VcL1RG
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 13, 2023
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio raised concerns about that language in a Friday letter to several Biden administration officials.
“In recent days, a video has circulated of an individual who claims to be an English-speaking spokesperson for the Ukrainian military. In the video, this individual, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, looks directly into the camera and threatens physical violence to anyone who circulates ‘Russian propaganda,’” Vance wrote in his letter.
“I worry American resources could be supporting violence or the threat of violence against people for speaking their mind. Notably, any critic of America’s incoherent policy in Ukraine has been slandered as a propagandist, including multiple presidential candidates and American journalists,” he wrote.
“While we can debate the merits of these accusations, engaging in protected speech should not invite threats of violence — otherwise, the First Amendment means nothing.”
Vance asked if Ashton-Cirillo has U.S. government connections and if he is being “compensated using American resources.”
According to Newsweek, Ashton-Cirillo responded to Vance’s letter by saying that “the Russian propagandists and war criminals who are spreading lies and pushing false narratives are not journalists, they are information agents and an extension of the Putin-Prigozhin effort to spread chaos and wreak havoc across the globe.”
He also said that his transgender status made him a target.
“While in Ukraine we are fighting for global liberty and the ideology of victory, too many in Moscow and across the world are still caught up in focusing on the tired trope of gender chaos,” Ashton-Cirillo said.
In a statement to Newsweek, Ashton-Cirillo said, “Like myself, Senator Vance understands the importance of the First Amendment, and defending it is part of upholding an oath.”
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces announced that Ashton-Cirillo had been suspended.
“The statements of JSgt Ashton-Cirillo in recent days were not approved by the command of the TDF or the command of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine]. When conducting military operations against the aggressor, the defense forces of Ukraine strictly observe the norms of international humanitarian law,” the TDF said in a post on X.
“The command of the TDF will conduct an official investigation into the circumstances of these statements. Appropriate decisions would be taken. Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo will be suspended immediately pending the investigation.”
3/3 The command of the TDF will conduct an official investigation into the circumstances of these statements. Appropriate decisions would be taken.
Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo will be suspended immediately pending the investigation.— Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces (@TDF_UA) September 20, 2023
Newsweek reported that Ashton-Cirillo first came to Ukraine as a journalist in March 2022, but then joined the Ukrainian military as a combat medic before assuming the role of a spokesman.
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