PHOENIX — A former veteran from Arizona who worked in the special operations community has enlisted to help the war efforts in Ukraine.
12 News sat down with him when he was back home in Arizona for a brief period of time before flying back to the war-torn country.
“It's definitely like an eye-opener," Kevin said. 12 News is not using his last name to protect his safety.
Kevin has spent three months on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. He felt obligated to help when the war first broke out so he flew across the world in early March with few expectations.
“I just thought okay me and a couple other guys will go there and see what we can do to help. And we'll start there," Kevin said.
Within hours of arriving, he was asked to fight.
“They were like, 'Hey we have a position that's being overrun. Are you guys ready to fight?'" Kevin described. "It was a consistent firefight for five straight days.”
'You're just being pounded with artillery'
Kevin has since teamed up with about twenty other volunteer fighters from around the world, primarily American special forces veterans. They've formed a unit within the International Legion - Foreign Service Group Alpha.
“You have guys from the UK that are working with the US. So everybody has to understand like, hey, what do you guys call this? This is how we do this. What do you guys do? This is the plan," he explained.
Kevin is fighting for his life alongside people he did not train with and oftentimes use different terminology. It's up to them to work together and come up with a plan.
"There have been moments where you're just being pounded with artillery and the firefights are intense," Kevin said. "Sometimes it's a lot, you know, it's emotionally draining. It's physically draining."
Facing an enemy with more resources and more manpower
Kevin has combat experience in the Middle East. But this is different.
In this war, Kevin said they've witnessed countless war crimes. He's seen women and children killed.
In addition, Kevin said they've had to fight in trenches.
"The first time we got to one of the positions, it was a trench network. And it was like a quarter mile of trenches. And we're talking like eight feet deep, two feet wide World War I trenches," Kevin described.
“And the enemy is across the field and the wood line. And you're like, wait, we're gonna get in these? And they're like, 'Unless you want to die.'"
Another stark difference between Kevin's past war experience and the war in Ukraine? For the first time in his career, he's outnumbered and facing off against an enemy with far more resources.
“The enemy now has the advantage with weapons and manpower and they have the aircraft, the tanks, and the ability to use even thermal imagery and night vision," Kevin explained. "Things that we'd always been relying on to fight within Iraq and Afghanistan."
Kevin returns to Ukraine
After returning home to Arizona for a brief period of time, Kevin is now back in Ukraine. His return comes as two other Americans have been captured by Russian forces.
“It just goes to show that Russia and it continues to show that they have no interest in following by the rules of war," Kevin said.
President Biden has warned Americans that they are being targeted by Russians and has urged them not to go.
“I can understand why the president would warn people not to go there. It is it is dangerous," he said when asked about that message.
But Kevin said his unit has had a tangible impact on Ukraine's fight. The military experience they bring has been invaluable.
He and others plan to assist in this war as long as it takes and feels confident Ukraine can pull through.
“I hope people realize that there's still a full war going there. Every day, there's still thousands of people fighting for their home," Kevin said. "We have it good here.”
He and his team want to share the stories from the front lines and are working on a documentary to show the harsh realities of this war and highlight the incredible resolve of the Ukrainian people.
If you're looking for a way to assist Ukraine, Ripley's Heroes is an organization collecting donations that go toward non-lethal and humanitarian resources.
Conflict in Ukraine
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