American Foreign Fighter Says He Was Injured In Russian Air Strike

“Zander” on March 16, 2022 in Korczowa, Poland

An American foreign fighter, who would identify himself only as “Zander,” said he was injured March 13 in a Russian airstrike on the “International Center for Peacekeeping and Security” in Yavoriv, located in far Western Ukraine. The strike drew much notice because it was the most westward attack yet committed by Russia, just around 15 miles from the Polish border.

“Zander,” who said he is originally from New Jersey, was in Ukraine fighting as a member of the “Zelensky Battalion” — a just-created international force named after the Ukraine president now being touted as a global folk hero. Ukraine government officials reported at least 35 fatalities in the bombing, as well as an unknown number of injured, but the nationalities of the casualties has not been specified.

After the attack, “Zander” crossed into Poland, which is where I encountered him March 16 — at a large processing center for displaced Ukrainians in Korczowa, just over the border.

“Zander” said he was watching the movie Saving Private Ryan in his room on the base at around 5am, when all of the sudden his “whole fucking window was blown out.” He said if he had been in a slightly different position on his bed, he would’ve been killed by a giant shard of glass. As he scrambled to get his bearings, he suffered some significant abrasions on his hands and arms, which he displayed to me.

Before departing the US for Ukraine after the invasion started last month, “Zander” got a tattoo on his hand of a logo for the Ukraine military:

He reported hearing from others on base that the Yavoriv facility was being used as a major supply hub for US-made weaponry flowing into Ukraine, and speculated that the purpose of the strike was to disrupt that supply line. This would be consistent with other public reports. The “International Center for Peacekeeping and Security” had been the site of US and NATO “training” exercises for years, including as recently as July 2021. “Zander” said he didn’t know if other Americans were among the casualties, but there have been reports that three British fighters were killed in the strike.

Speculating on what precipitated Russia’s decision to target the facility, “Zander” said: “We either had a fifth column among us or they had spotters. And what I mean by that is social media. We’ve got these dipshits who want to be Instagram influencers. They came on our base, sort of showing everyone — ‘Hey, look.’ And then they drone on social media.”

With journalists glamorizing the foreign fighters flocking into Ukraine, and casting the war as a cosmic battle between Good and Evil, it’s highly probable that there will be additional US casualties. Which could subsequently be cited as justification for wider US military involvement. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!