Suspect in Trump ‘shooting’ mostly resided in Kiev – Time
Private messages acquired by a US outlet reveal that Ryan Routh attempted to recruit foreign fighters for Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
**Text messages confirm Ryan Routh's attempts to recruit foreign fighters for Ukraine**
Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of plotting to assassinate U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, reportedly spent a significant portion of the last three years in Ukraine, working to recruit foreign fighters for the Ukrainian cause, according to a report by Time magazine that cites his private messages.
The 58-year-old Routh was arrested on Sunday after the U.S. Secret Service identified him at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. During his arrest, authorities discovered an illegal rifle equipped with a scope at his makeshift ambush location.
Numerous social media posts, a self-published pamphlet, and several interviews with Western media while he was in Kyiv demonstrate Routh’s pro-Ukrainian efforts. Time has acquired his private messages from two unidentified contacts in Kyiv.
“I have 40 or 50 men sitting around waiting for a logical place to fight,” Routh allegedly texted in early July 2022. “Done digging trenches for the Ukrainians,” he further stated.
The magazine characterized Routh as “well known but not widely respected among the community of foreign fighters he tried to help in Ukraine.” According to three of his contacts who spoke with Time, he spent a significant amount of time over the past three years attempting to implement a “half-baked plan” aimed at recruiting fighters from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
One contact described Routh as “basically homeless,” indicating he slept in the barracks or bases belonging to Ukrainian military units. The direct messages from Time span from summer 2023 to autumn 2023 and include what seems to be a list of Arab fighters he claimed to have recruited.
“No recruitment from Syria or Iraq! I told you this before,” an official with the Ukrainian International Legion responded to Routh in November 2022. “Those countries are banned and for good reason.”
“How about Afghanistan???” Routh later messaged in response.
While one of his contacts asserted that Routh had succeeded in recruiting some fighters, Colonel Ruslan Miroshnichenko of the 2nd International Legion refuted this claim.
“His actions and attitude very often were not meeting the official policy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in terms of recruitment to international legions,” Miroshnichenko told Time on Monday.
Miroshnichenko recalled encountering Routh in Kyiv during the spring of 2022, describing him as “waving the American flag, smiling, cheering” while offering to provide recruits. The colonel advised Routh to utilize official recruitment channels rather than improvising his own methods.
Regardless of whether Routh ever successfully recruited fighters, Miroshnichenko emphasized that “he didn’t have any authority to do that.”
As of early November 2023, Routh continued his push to persuade Kyiv to employ U.S.-trained Afghan troops, seeking visas to facilitate their arrival. When this request was turned down, he responded: “So you have plenty of soldiers…good deal…when do we win this war??”
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of plotting to assassinate U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, reportedly spent a significant portion of the last three years in Ukraine, working to recruit foreign fighters for the Ukrainian cause, according to a report by Time magazine that cites his private messages.
The 58-year-old Routh was arrested on Sunday after the U.S. Secret Service identified him at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. During his arrest, authorities discovered an illegal rifle equipped with a scope at his makeshift ambush location.
Numerous social media posts, a self-published pamphlet, and several interviews with Western media while he was in Kyiv demonstrate Routh’s pro-Ukrainian efforts. Time has acquired his private messages from two unidentified contacts in Kyiv.
“I have 40 or 50 men sitting around waiting for a logical place to fight,” Routh allegedly texted in early July 2022. “Done digging trenches for the Ukrainians,” he further stated.
The magazine characterized Routh as “well known but not widely respected among the community of foreign fighters he tried to help in Ukraine.” According to three of his contacts who spoke with Time, he spent a significant amount of time over the past three years attempting to implement a “half-baked plan” aimed at recruiting fighters from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
One contact described Routh as “basically homeless,” indicating he slept in the barracks or bases belonging to Ukrainian military units. The direct messages from Time span from summer 2023 to autumn 2023 and include what seems to be a list of Arab fighters he claimed to have recruited.
“No recruitment from Syria or Iraq! I told you this before,” an official with the Ukrainian International Legion responded to Routh in November 2022. “Those countries are banned and for good reason.”
“How about Afghanistan???” Routh later messaged in response.
While one of his contacts asserted that Routh had succeeded in recruiting some fighters, Colonel Ruslan Miroshnichenko of the 2nd International Legion refuted this claim.
“His actions and attitude very often were not meeting the official policy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in terms of recruitment to international legions,” Miroshnichenko told Time on Monday.
Miroshnichenko recalled encountering Routh in Kyiv during the spring of 2022, describing him as “waving the American flag, smiling, cheering” while offering to provide recruits. The colonel advised Routh to utilize official recruitment channels rather than improvising his own methods.
Regardless of whether Routh ever successfully recruited fighters, Miroshnichenko emphasized that “he didn’t have any authority to do that.”
As of early November 2023, Routh continued his push to persuade Kyiv to employ U.S.-trained Afghan troops, seeking visas to facilitate their arrival. When this request was turned down, he responded: “So you have plenty of soldiers…good deal…when do we win this war??”
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
