News Feed, Donald Trump, Ukraine, United States, War, Foreign Ministry, 2024 Presidential election, Ryan Wesley Routh, Russia

Edit post

Trump assassination attempt suspect has no ties to Ukrainian institutions, Kyiv says

by Kateryna Denisova and The Kyiv Independent news desk September 17, 2024 10:11 PM 2 min read

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi attends a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 13. (Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

The suspect in the second assassination attempt on former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump has no ties to Ukrainian institutions, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said at a briefing on Sept. 17.

The U.S. Secret Service on Sept. 15 opened fire after seeing an armed individual at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was playing golf. Trump was unharmed, and the FBI is investigating the incident as another assassination attempt against the Republican presidential candidate.

The suspect detained in connection to the attack was identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. Based on his social media activity, Routh has cast himself as a supporter of Ukraine and spoke to the New York Times in 2023 about a scheme to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight for Kyiv.

Tykhyi reiterated that the suspect has never fought for Ukraine as a member of the International Legion or other units of Ukraine's Defense Forces.

"We can see from the news reports that the suspect previously publicly supported Ukraine, but there are hundreds of millions of people in the United States who support Ukraine and clearly diverse groups of individuals," the spokesperson said.

"We urge everyone to refrain from artificially linking the suspect's actions to Ukraine."

Following the incident, President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the assassination attempt on Trump, saying that "the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world."

Trump was previously targeted in an assassination attempt on July 13 during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The incident sparked a wave of pro-Kremlin propaganda blaming Democrats for the plot against Trump.

There are fears that Routh's apparent support for Ukraine will likely further inflame Russian disinformation narratives ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Multiple reports indicated that Russia would seek to interfere in the upcoming vote by backing Trump and turning the American public against supporting Ukraine.

Authors: Kateryna Denisova, The Kyiv Independent news desk

Comments

News Feed

9:30 AM

Russian attacks kill 5, injure 31 over past day.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed five civilians and injured at least 31 over the past day, regional authorities reported early on Sept. 19.

9:09 AM

Opinion

Opinion: The harsh truth behind Ukraine’s peace prospects

8:38 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 638,140 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

This number includes 1,130 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

7:41 AM

Zelensky to meet Harris in Washington next week, CNN reports.

The meeting comes less than 50 days before the U.S. presidential election, a race that has been characterized by dramatic upheavals and sharply contrasting views on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

4:48 AM

Russia, Pakistan strengthen economic ties, expand trade.

Moscow also pledged support for Pakistan's bid to join the BRICS international alliance.

3:54 AM

Trump plans appearance with Polish president, claims he will 'probably' meet Zelensky next week.

Foreign leaders, including Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda, are convening in New York City over the next few days for the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations.

3:07 PM

(Updated: September 19, 2024 1:07 am)

Shots fired at Moscow office of Russia's largest online retailer, killing 2, injuring 7.

A shooting at the head office of Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, killed two people and injured at least seven others, Russian state-controlled news agency TASS reported on Sept. 18.

11:02 PM

Field report

‘They attack with quantity:’ With Ukrainian soldiers desperately defending Pokrovsk

11:02 PM

Russian troll farm behind fake story about supposed Harris hit and run incident, Microsoft says.

CBS News previously debunked the story, but Microsoft's report was the first indication that Russia was the source of the false news. The story was initially spread by a website disguised as a local San Francisco media outlet and was replete with an embedded video that Microsoft said used a paid actor.

10:07 PM

Kremlin's war in Ukraine 'a stunning Russian military failure,' British diplomat says.

"At the military level, Ukraine’s effective use of maneuver warfare stands in stark contrast to Russia’s ‘meat grinder’ tactics," Nicholas Aucott said.

9:15 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Drone attack 'wipes Russian weapons depot off the face of the earth,' Kyiv says

8:54 PM

Ukraine's victory plan fully ready, Zelensky says.

"The most important thing now is the determination to implement it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sept. 18.

8:26 PM

Ukraine's French Mirage jets will be able to hit ground targets, media reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on June 6 that an unspecified number would be transferred to Ukraine, but did not provide a timeline.

8:16 PM

Drone attack

Arms depot in Russia's Tver Oblast built to withstand nuclear explosion heavily damaged by Ukrainian drones

7:49 PM

Romania urges 'robust' NATO response to airspace violations by Russia.

Speaking at a meeting of the Bucharest Nine (B9) format, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar called for "enforcing the rotational air defense and integrated anti-missile model as soon as possible."

7:02 PM

Finnish president wants Russia excluded from UN Security Council.

According to Finnish President Alexander Stubb, any council member engaged in an illegal war "such as Russia is in right now in Ukraine" should be suspended.

6:26 PM

State sells iconic Kyiv hotel to Ukrainian businessman for double starting price

6:19 PM

Russia's Kursk counteroffensive halted, Kyiv claims.

"(Russia) tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped there," spokesperson Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi told AFP.

5:42 PM

WSJ estimates of Ukraine's casualties 'exaggerated,' lawmaker believes.

"I think that these are exaggerated data. Definitely... Namely when talking about the recorded number of killed," secretary of the parliamentary defense committee Roman Kostenko said.

5:09 PM

Armenia uncovers alleged coup plot with Russian traces.

Yerevan on Sept. 18 accused five Armenian citizens and two former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh of undergoing military training in Russia in order to stage an armed coup in Armenia.

5:08 PM

Video

African POWs on how they ended up fighting for Russia.

In this exclusive interview, the Kyiv Independent interviews Somali and Sierra Leonean prisoners of war who fought for Russia in its war against Ukraine.

4:55 PM

Opinion

Trump assassination attempt suspect has no ties to Ukrainian institutions, Kyiv says

Most popular

News Feed

Editors' Picks

Subscribe

Subscribe

Subscribe