An American military veteran left his job as a home improvement contractor in Connecticut to travel to Ukraine and take up arms in the country’s fight against Russian invasion.
James Vasquez, 47, arrived in Ukraine earlier this month and is now fighting alongside the country’s armed forces against Vladimir Putin’s invading forces, posting heartbreaking news in the process. on twitter.
A former US Army master sergeant with two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, Vazquez is the father of four adult children, two sons and two stepchildren, his wife Tina told .
Since trading in his tool belt for AK-47s and hand grenades, Vasquez has faced harrowing combat in an unknown part of Ukraine, but Tina says she supported his decision to join the fight from the start.
“It’s in his DNA and he came up to me after work and said, ‘We need to talk, I can’t watch this on TV, I need to help these guys,'” she said.
“Come on, just be sure to come home,” Tina recalls her answer. “That’s what he needs to do and I need to support him.”
James Vasquez, 47, arrived in Ukraine earlier this month and is now fighting alongside the country’s armed forces against Vladimir Putin’s invading forces.
Vasquez with his wife Tina at their home in Connecticut shortly before leaving for a trip to fight alongside the Ukrainian military against the Russian invasion.
The couple, who have been married for seven years, live in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Tina admits that at times it was hard for her to realize that her husband was in danger as Putin’s forces continued their bloody offensive.
“It was a struggle for me, a worry every day,” she said. “He tries to call me when he can, but sometimes he can’t, and I’m a little worried.”
But she added: “I am very proud of my husband, he is my hero and he met a lot of wonderful people in Ukraine.”
On Thursday, Vazquez posted a video showing the remains of a wrecked Russian tank at an undisclosed location after the village was cleared of Russian occupation.
“This village has been occupied by the Russians for a month now, they terrorized people and took away their food. Today we went in, destroyed seven tanks and countless Russians, thus freeing these people, ”Vazquez wrote on Twitter.
The official account of the Ukrainian Armed Forces shared a video and praised the work of the country’s International Legion, which is made up of volunteers from other countries, mostly military veterans, who volunteered to join the fight.
On Thursday, Vazquez posted a video showing the remains of a wrecked Russian tank at an undisclosed location after the village was cleared of Russian occupation.
Vazquez (right) is seen with other members of his unit, made up of Ukrainian and foreign legion soldiers, who fight side by side.
After days of eating eggs and dumplings, Vasquez was able to get 30 pounds of steak, which he and his unit grilled on a makeshift grill.
In another video, Vasquez clarified that he does not receive any pay for his service in Ukraine, adding that self-funded travel has become a heavy financial burden for his family.
Vazquez frequently shared updates on Twitter, praising the camaraderie and fighting spirit of his fellow soldiers in the Ukrainian military.
“These people are obviously not trained enough, but what they lack in skills they make up for in bravery, so when we have downtime, I train them in tactical maneuvers, the use of thermal and night vision, the proper cleaning of weapons, etc. “, he wrote in one of the updates on Thursday. adding that Ukrainian troops are “learning fast.”
He explained that securing equipment and resupply was chaotic at times, but that ordinary Ukrainians chipped in at every turn, including a hunting shop owner who happily gave him binoculars for free after learning he was an American volunteer.
In another update this week, he wrote that his weapon was “pretty beat up” and that he traded it in for an AK-47 he borrowed from a “Russian”.
Vasquez explained that securing equipment and restocking was chaotic at times.
On Twitter, Vasquez (above) often shared updates praising the camaraderie and fighting spirit of his fellow soldiers in the Ukrainian army.
Vazquez (left) plans to continue fighting in Ukraine for at least another two months
“Every time a vehicle is shot down or broken down, we simply requisition another vehicle,” he wrote on Thursday. ‘Head to the front lines in style. New infinity. It is very difficult to find four-wheel drive vehicles here.”
Vasquez said his unit was on a mission to find “a group of Russians who were spotted by hiding civilians.”
“I’m going to get information from them and eliminate the threat. I have a drone to fly overhead and try to spot them,” he wrote.
Hours later, Vasquez wrote that he had just endured “six hours of fighting in a row” and that his team had suffered casualties, including one death.
In response, Vazquez said that Ukrainian forces had destroyed “countless numbers” of Russians, as well as seven Russian tanks.
US law does not contradict the drafting of American citizens into the armed forces of foreign countries, if they do not participate in hostilities against the United States. Pictured: Vasquez on the right
Vazquez recently reported that his unit was on a mission to find “a group of Russians who have been spotted by civilians.”
After several years in New York City as a construction manager for high-rise projects, Vasquez now owns his own home renovation business in Connecticut.
From time to time, Vazquez also published chilling observations about the behavior of the Russian military on the battlefield.
“The Russians refuse to take their dead. Their fallen soldiers are left to be eaten by stray dogs,” he wrote earlier this week.
“Another example of pieces of shit. The Americans will never leave behind a man or a corpse.”
Vasquez arrived in Ukraine on March 14 after arriving in Poland and crossing the border by land.
US law does not contradict the drafting of American citizens into the armed forces of foreign countries, if they do not participate in hostilities against the United States.
Ukraine actively recruits foreigners, especially those with military or law enforcement experience, to participate in the fight against Russia.
Vasquez’s wife Tina told that he plans to stay in Ukraine for at least two months.