A stranger approached as I was walking with a colleague around Maidan Square, one of Kyiv’s most famous landmarks, on June 17, 2022. He introduced himself as an American volunteer from Hawaii, who had supposedly sold all his possessions to come out and help Ukraine in its fight for freedom.
His name was Ryan Routh. He is now notorious as the man the FBI says attempted to assassinate former President Trump on Sunday.
Slightly disheveled, with strands of dyed blue and yellow hair peeking out from underneath his camouflage cap, he made a rather poor impression—and he certainly didn’t look like a recruiting officer for Ukraine’s International Legion, as he had introduced himself.