US fighters are increasingly dying in Ukraine, returning the body difficult

US fighters are increasingly dying in Ukraine, returning the body difficult

In Ukraine, more than 20 Americans are reported on the front. An investigation by CNN shows that the number of fallen has risen sharply in the past six months, since many foreigners close urgently needed gaps in the competitive lines of defense. In the past six months, the corpses of at least five American volunteers who had joined the Ukrainian army could not be recovered by the battlefield. Two of these corpses were brought back to Ukrainian soil on Friday after long negotiations from Russian.

The difficult situation of the missing Americans

The shocking reports of their surviving comrades and the increasing number of losses illustrate the often unknown but important role of American fighters on the front in a war that President Donald Trump has described as "ridiculous" and in which he wants to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin into diplomatic solutions. The relatives of the missing Americans report on the emotional burden that they are unable to bury their sons, and the legal uncertainty that they cannot officially declare their loved ones dead. They are also bothered online by Russian internet roles. The intensity of the struggles on the front lines in the east of Ukraine often leads to the corner of the soldiers on both sides and the battlefields are covered with fallen.

reports on American volunteers

In September, two American volunteers were killed in an incident near Pokrovsk in the east of Ukraine. Former US soldier Zachary Ford, 25, from Missouri, and another American without military experience, whose family wished that he only became known under his nickname "Gunther", were killed by a drone attack while commissioned to blow up a bridge near the Novohrodivka village.

experiences and dangers on the front

The surviving American soldier, who calls himself "Redneck", described a mission with limited chances of success, in which the three-time team of the US volunteers quickly encircled by Russian fire in a ditch about 500 meters from their destination. "Russian drones came to break through the roof of the bunker," he recalled in an interview with CNN from the USA. A tree trunk fell from the roof and hit it on the face. "I had the shotgun and tried to shoot things down." Ford informed his commanders about radio that they wanted to cancel the mission, but received the order to continue.

the loss and its consequences

Redneck reported that he wanted to slip into the bunker to get ammunition, just barely escaping the drone attacks, the Ford and Gunther injured. Ford suffered injuries that required the use of two tournaments. Minutes later, Redneck heard Ford scream: "Gunther is dead". "I came down to look, and the Ukrainian there only said: 'Friend dead.'" Ford remained stable, but her commander warned about radio that another Russian attack was imminent. "He knew that we would not get through another attack," said Redneck. "So he asked me to kill him so that he was not captured." Redneck refused and said Ford that they would find a way to get out of this situation.

emotional challenges for relatives

The return of the dead Americans is an emotional and complex process for everyone involved. Lauren Guillaume, an American who lives in Kiev and works for the non -profit organization RT Weatherman Foundation, helps foreign families to find their relatives. In this context, she explained that positive identification via visual identification methods and DNA tests was possible.

The reality of identification and return

Ukrainian civil servants said that the identification of the dead was more complicated if the remains are returned from the Russian side. Artur Dobroserdov, the representative for missing people in the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, found that they could possibly receive a sack with ten different parts of the body during a corpse exchange. More than 20 Americans are reported to be reported, whereby the Ukraine wants to ensure that all parts of the remains are identified before parts are released for the funeral so that the families do not bury part of a loved one and later receive other parts. These emotional challenges describe the painful circumstances of the return of fallen.

The exact number of American volunteers who have fallen or are missing in Ukraine remains unclear. Nevertheless, the growing number shows that foreign fighters are often used in stressful, risky operations on the frontline, which illustrates the scope and willingness to sacrifice of these men and women.