Trump shooting suspect Ryan Wesley Routh — personal interactions in Ukraine raise questions about support for Kyiv

Almost immediately after a reported second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, reports emerged of the suspect’s apparent support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Text messages shared with the Kyiv Independent and conversations with other foreigners living and working in Ukraine paint a picture, however, of a person who misrepresented himself, expressed disdain for Ukraine’s war effort, and had delusional ideas of his place in international affairs.

The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was taken into custody after the Secret Service on Sept. 15 opened fire on an armed individual at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida where Trump was playing golf.

Media interviews, social media posts, and videos dug up after his arrest display Routh’s passionate support for Ukraine. Routh also spent time Ukraine after the start of the full-scale invasion, and in an interview with the New York Times in June 2023 described plans to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight in the country’s International Legion, a military unit composed of foreign volunteers.

Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Routh claimed on the social media platform X that he was ready to fight and die in the war against Russia.

"I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE," he wrote.

In February 2023, he published a book on Amazon titled “Ukraine's Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea and the end of Humanity.”

In the long and rambling description of the book, Routh describes shooting a paralyzing a "white rooster," watching videos of the Taliban executing people, and claims he has "5,900 Afghan soldiers" and "10,000 of the Syrian free army" ready to fight in Ukraine.

It then goes on to accuse the U.S. of not allowing him to send these fighters to Ukraine, and calls on the world to do more to ensure Ukraine’s victory.

Russian state media have seized on the reports, describing Routh as a "pro-Kyiv activist."

Controversial U.S. lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has a history of parroting Kremlin propaganda lines, also said Routh was "obsessed with the Ukraine war," and said the U.S. Congress "must demand answers" about his links to Ukraine.

But a WhatsApp conversation in November 2023 with Evelyn Aschenbrenner, who worked in an admin role with the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine at the time, suggests his support for Ukraine wasn't as solid as his social media posts made out.

In the conversation, of which Aschenbrenner shared screen shots with the Kyiv Independent, Routh began by saying he had "thousands of Afghan soldiers if you need soldiers."

Aschenbrenner responded by saying "that sounds like a massive security risk," adding: "The Legion has a recruiting system that you are not part of. You are absolutely not helping anything by doing this."

"And PLEASE do not start telling thousands of Afghans to come to Ukraine. That's absurd. If you did nothing at all, I'd be grateful," Aschenbrenner added.

Routh's tone changed dramatically, and he replied by telling Aschenbrenner that he "lives in Hawaii on a beautiful sandy beach with beautiful girls in bikinis all day."

When Aschenbrenner said that was a "weird thing to say to a female soldier," Routh then went on to express contempt for Ukraine's plight amid Russia's invasion.

"Really… point is I am happy and not worried about Ukraine. Congress is cutting off all funding now it seems. Good luck," he said.

"Ukraine has chased away all foreign support. Once China attacks Taiwan they can give everything they have to Putin. The gates will be open and I and the world will see the end of Ukraine…"

In a comment to the Kyiv Independent, Aschenbrenner said Routh "has been consistently lying that he's connected to the International Legion."

"Despite many foreign recruiters and soldiers, as well as Ukrainian officers and commanders, asking him to stop, Routh has repeatedly misrepresented himself," Aschenbrenner added.

The International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine, on Sept. 16 rejected any connections to Routh.

"We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity," the Legion said in a post on social media.

"Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate."

Social media users also warned in June of this year that Routh was "misrepresenting himself and lying to many people."

French journalist Guillaume Ptak, who met Routh in Kyiv in July 2022 and recorded a video of him appealing for more help for Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent he was "loopy, kind of well-meaning, but didn't have a good grasp of what was going on."

"He introduced himself as a recruiter for the International Legion in Ukraine, which we now know seems to be a load of horse shit," Ptak said.

"He was nice and very passionate but he obviously didn't look like the picture of perfect health and sanity.

"He had paper stapled to his chest and was just walking up to every random person."

In another social media post in 2020, Routh displays an outsized understanding of his role in foreign affairs, inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to his home in Hawaii, offering his services as "ambassador and liaison."

Zelensky denounces apparent assassination attempt on Trump

“It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek