JUDY WOODRUFF: It was widely reported that
the Trump administration may block $250 million
in military assistance to Ukraine as part
of its overall efforts to curtail foreign
aid.
Mr. Trump began supplying weapons to Ukraine
two years ago in its fight against Russian-backed
separatists.
The war there is now in its sixth year, with
thousands dead and no signs of an end in sight.
And with no U.S. troop presence anywhere near
the front lines, some American citizens have
decided to go and fight anyway.
From those front lines, special correspondent
Simon Ostrovsky reports.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Damien Rodriguez is an American
citizen from the Bronx with a habit of fighting
in wars that many would say are not his own.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ, Ukrainian Naval Infantry
Corps: My passion is to volunteer for different
militaries, militias, and help defend their
land.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: In 2015, Damien traveled
to Syria.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: The ISIS videos that were
coming out decapitating people, burning people
alive, selling women, I felt like I had to
do something, and our government wasn't doing
enough, and heard that people were out there
helping and decided to go and help.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: He had no military experience.
The only branch he'd served in was a bank
branch in Delaware.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: I dealt with all the automated
cash transactions, a lot of spreadsheets,
Excel.
Not for me, I guess.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Today, he's a long way from
the spreadsheets, fighting an enemy even more
formidable than ISIS or arithmetic, the Russian
military.
Last year, Damien joined the Marine Corps
of Ukraine.
We're in a trench on a hill that's overlooking
some of the Russian-backed forces' positions.
The reason Damien's unit's been sent here
is because they're to provide covering fire
for another Ukrainian unit that's hunting
anti-tank crews that have been harassing Ukrainian
vehicles lately.
This machine gun nest overlooks the positions
of the Russian military and their local separatist
allies, who want to wrest control of Eastern
Ukraine from the central government in Kiev.
MAN: Go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: It's a war that's claimed
the lives of some 13,000 people since 2014.
And aside from the occasional foreign volunteer,
Ukraine, which has regularly committed its
troops to America's wars around the world,
has had to wage this fight on its own -- well,
almost.
Damien came here, not just without the blessing
of his government, but also without his family's.
He left his girlfriend and two sons behind
in the United States.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: That didn't go over too
well.
She was extremely upset, couldn't understand
why I would give up my family.
She's seeing it as giving up my family, because,
of course, there's a possibility of death.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Extremely upset is putting
it lightly.
In the months leading up to his departure
to Syria, Damien's ex sued him for withdrawing
money from a joint account.
And when he returned in 2017, he was arrested
for missing thousands of dollars in child
support payments.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: She kind of basically told
me they want me out of their life.
And at that time, I wasn't in a good state
of mind.
I had just came back from Syria.
And...
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Are you saying that you lost
custody of your son?
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: So, the United States -- the
United States has sent $1.5 billion of military
aid to Ukraine, but there are no boots on
the ground.
That $1.5 billion goes to weapons, equipment
and training.
The only American servicemen here are in a
facility near the Polish border, over 800
miles west of the front lines.
Like the Canadian and British soldiers who
are also in Ukraine, they're providing training
at a safe distance from the violence.
There's hundreds of other Americans far away
from the front lines in a much safer environment.
What does it feel like to be one of the only
ones actually on the front line in the only
active war in Europe?
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: Last thing we need is another
war.
If you have more boots here, then that means
Russia's going to have more boots over there.
And, you know, do you really want this to
be a huge, you know, possibly world war, you
know?
SIMON OSTROVSKY: One of his commanding officers
tells us he's grateful for the fighters from
the U.S., Great Britain and Estonia that have
joined this unit.
How did you feel when the foreigners first
joined your battalion?
LT.
ANDRIY PIDLISNY, Ukrainian Naval Infantry
Corps: We know the reason why we are here,
Ukrainians, because it's our land.
We defend it.
But why foreign guys come here?
We didn't -- these guys, very good guys, they're
very patriotic.
One of them want to take Ukrainian citizenship
now, because our allows to do that.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Following in the footsteps
of the U.S., Ukraine changed its laws to make
it possible for foreigners serving in the
military to receive citizenship.
Not everyone plans on taking it, but the Defense
Ministry says there are currently about 130
foreigners serving, including several Americans.
ARCHIL TSINTSADZE, Ukrainian Defense Ministry:
Someone who proves that he wants to be Ukrainian
citizen, and he also has the good record of
fighting for this country, well, he also has
the privilege to be granted Ukrainian citizenship.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: The reforms are seen as part
of an effort to redirect internationals away
from volunteer battalions that were not fully
under the Defense Ministry's control, groups
like the Azov Battalion, which has recruited
many of its fighters from the ranks of the
far right and has ties to organizations that
participated in the 2017 white nationalist
rally in Charlottesville.
ARCHIL TSINTSADZE: That's why you need somehow
to regulate these volunteers or foreign fighters
or whoever is fighting on your side.
It was impossible to plan some military operations
because volunteers never accepted your orders,
and they did their own military operations.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: So, what about the equipment
provided with U.S. tax dollars?
Some of it has apparently filtered down to
the troops.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: We were issued night vision.
And I actually just used it last night.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: But there is a desperate
shortage of one thing on these front lines:
safe armored vehicles.
In this sector, we saw none of the Humvees
America handed over with much pomp at this
ceremony in 2015.
We were told there weren't enough to go around.
Drones are another area where the Ukrainian
military improvises.
And Damien is his unit's pilot.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: So, this video actually
shows me actually using the drone as a weapon.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Whoa.
There it goes.
And he runs back into the dugout.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: We were targeting the vehicle.
We had no clue who was in the vehicle.
It just so happened to be one of the big commanders
of that battalion.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Anyone can order this quadcopter
from Amazon for around $1,500, but it has
one deadly handmade modification.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: It just has an attachment
here to drop bombs.
Stuff this -- plastic explosives into the
tube, set a detonator inside, and once it
hits the detonator, explodes.
Get a bunch of nice little screws inside there.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Should an American like you
really be here fighting another country's
war?
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: Our government actually
supports Ukraine, very much so.
I would never go against my country's wishes.
Syria was a bit on the line.
When I got back, guys from, like, Homeland
Security and even FBI guys, they were like,
oh, thank you very much, you know?
I share a room with another guy.
This is my bed.
Sorry for the mess.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON OSTROVSKY: For Damien, being out here
on the front lines, despite the constant dangers,
things somehow seem easier and more straightforward
than the life he abandoned in the U.S.
PTE.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ: Don't get me wrong.
I love America, I love my home and my family.
But Ukraine is growing on me, and I really
respect the people, especially the people
here in the military.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Few Americans have dared
openly fight against Russia in its war in
Ukraine, but if Kiev continues welcoming foreign
fighters, America and other Western countries
may get more boots on the ground than they
ever bargained for.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Simon Ostrovsky
on the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.
