Ryan Wesley Ruth, the suspect named by US media in connection with the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, was trying to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan for the war front in Ukraine.
He even gave an interview to the New York Times in 2023 in which he said he wanted to help the Ukrainian war effort against Russia and was looking to recruit Afghan soldiers who had defected from the Taliban.
Ruth said at the time that dozens of soldiers had expressed interest, adding that he planned to transfer them from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine, in some cases illegally. “We will probably be able to buy some passports through Pakistan because it is a very corrupt country,” he explained.
Ruth also told the Times at the time that he was in Washington to meet with the U.S. Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe “for two hours” to help push for more support for Ukraine. He appears to have been involved in recruitment efforts as early as July.
A July Facebook post read in part: “Soldiers, please don’t call me. We are still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan soldiers and hope to have some answers in the next few months… please be patient.”4