{"id":3475,"date":"2025-03-07T00:02:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T00:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/he-betrayed-every-one-of-us-us-soldiers-in-ukraine-speak-out-after-trumps-military-aid-halt\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T00:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T00:02:26","slug":"he-betrayed-every-one-of-us-us-soldiers-in-ukraine-speak-out-after-trumps-military-aid-halt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euro-tv.ro\/news\/he-betrayed-every-one-of-us-us-soldiers-in-ukraine-speak-out-after-trumps-military-aid-halt\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He betrayed every one of us\u2019 \u2013 US soldiers in Ukraine speak out after Trump\u2019s military aid halt"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor\u2019s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only.<\/em><\/p>\n

American volunteer soldiers fighting in Ukraine say that they feel \u201cbetrayed\u201d by their own country after the U.S. halted military aid and stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv in early March. <\/p>\n

\u201c(U.S. President Donald Trump) betrayed every one of us,\u201d a U.S. army veteran, who goes by the callsign Goldfish, told the Kyiv Independent.<\/p>\n

A few days after the heated Oval Office clash<\/a> during President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>\u2019s visit to Washington on Feb. 28, Trump<\/a> froze the delivery of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine<\/a>, worth billions, in a move to push Kyiv into peace talks with Russia. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed on March 5 that the U.S. has also <\/a>halted<\/a> intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which could affect Ukraine\u2019s ability to identify Russian targets, as well as to defend itself from missile strikes. <\/p>\n

The American soldiers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent said they were \u201chorrified\u201d by their country\u2019s recent decisions and the ensuing consequences on the ground in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

With many of them fighting in Ukraine since 2022, they say watching their country take a major U-turn in Ukraine policy<\/a> and soften toward Russia<\/a> has been hurtful and deeply offensive, especially after losing comrades one after another to the war, including many Americans. <\/p>\n

\u201cNever have I ever thought that I would be listening to any U.S. public figure \u2014 let alone the president \u2014 openly declare support for an aggressor,\u201d Goldfish, a 33-year-old Alaskan currently serving with the 25th Airborne Brigade, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we stand here now on the side of the oppressor, literally telling Ukraine, either submit or cease to exist, that’s not peace \u2013 that\u2019s subjugation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Feb. 10, 2025. (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the exact number of U.S. volunteer soldiers fighting in various units in Ukraine is unknown to the public, at least 50, including about 40 U.S. military veterans, were killed in action as of February 2024, according to the American defense online publication Task & Purpose<\/a>. A 2025 CNN investigation <\/a>revealed<\/a> that more than 20 are missing in action on the front line. <\/p>\n

Understanding the significance of U.S. military aid and the immense sacrifice that Ukraine has already made to defend its country, some American fighters hoped that Trump wouldn\u2019t abandon Ukraine like that, soldier Levi Perez, 36, said. <\/p>\n

\u201cDeep down in our very souls, we knew it was coming,\u201d Perez, an Alaskan who goes by his callsign Joker, told the Kyiv Independent. <\/p>\n

“Our reputation for the foreseeable future is pretty much gone,\u201d he said, noting that other Western countries are losing trust in the U.S. and may turn away from further political and economic ties.<\/p>\n

Perez and a few other American soldiers in Ukraine are convinced that Trump and his team\u2019s hasty moves are making the possibility of World War III inevitable, especially with China<\/a> likely eyeing the moment to invade another sovereign nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are beyond the point of control (where we can avoid World War III) because Russia<\/a> is not going to retreat completely, they won’t give back the stolen territory, and Ukraine won’t let them keep the territory,\u201d Perez said, referring to the roughly 20% of the Ukrainian land that Russia occupies. <\/p>\n

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With every day of the new White House administration that passes, the chances of Russia being brought in from the cold on the international stage after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine appear to be increasing. U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s ongoing Kremlin charm campaign has seen Ukraine and Europ\u2026<\/div>\n
\"\u2018HeThe Kyiv Independent<\/span>Kollen Post<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A surge in the Ukrainian troop losses is expected with the U.S. military aid freeze and the intelligence sharing halt, the American soldiers say. <\/p>\n

A former police officer from a southern city in the U.S. currently serving in the Ukrainian military says that he\u2019s most worried about the bans\u2019 potential cost especially on the civilian lives. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe civilians are going to suffer exponentially, almost more, because now with the lack of intelligence, we don’t have as much information about rocket and drone strikes<\/a> coming from Russian territory,\u201d the police officer-turned-soldier, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to his unit\u2019s protocols, told the Kyiv Independent. <\/p>\n

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\n\u201cI accepted the fact that I just may not have a country to go back to because I\u2019m not going to go back and live under a fascist regime.\u201d\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The most terrifying part is seeing how the U.S.\u2019 next steps will impact Ukraine and its people, because \u201cUkrainian people are incredible,\u201d according to a fellow American soldier, who goes by the callsign Gimli. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe nightmare that keeps me up the most is whether my country will ever recover,\u201d Gimli, a 33-year-old former U.S. army serviceman from Washington, told the Kyiv Independent. \u201cOr if Trump and the Kremlin have completely crippled the future of my country.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gimli and other American soldiers said they had a completely different vision of their country \u2014 a democratic nation they believed had always tried to do the right thing despite setbacks and to help the world as \u201cdefenders of freedom.\u201d Now, they say they feel humiliated.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI accepted the fact that I just may not have a country to go back to because I\u2019m not going to go back and live under a fascist regime,\u201d he said, adding that he hopes that \u201cthe Ukrainians can forgive my people someday.\u201d <\/p>\n

The American soldiers interviewed said their hopes were now hanging on Europe to step up its support for Ukraine in what could be its darkest months to come. <\/p>\n

Goldfish, who received a near fatal injury in embattled Donetsk Oblast<\/a> in the summer of 2023, said that \u201cEurope is the sleeping tiger in this war.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought it would be Russia that would just poke too far towards Europe or make too many threats. But it wasn’t,\u201d Goldfish said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was America that poked the tiger and woke it up.\u201d <\/p>\n