A US military veteran who left his hometown to fight on the side of Kiev's forces has issued a “plea” for more weapons to be sent by Western countries to Ukraine, reported The Daily Mail.
James Vasquez, 47, a home renovation contractor from Connecticut, is believed to have left for Ukraine in March. He has since been continuously posting updates on his adventures as a “mercenary” amid the Russian special operation to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine.
The ex-US Army staff sergeant shared a video on social media on Friday where he revealed he had modified his own AK-47 out of his own pocket, while the Ukrainian government has given him a “naked” weapon.
The army vet bemoaned the fact that Kiev authorities expected him to “go into battle with just my drones, AK-47 and one grenade and nothing else.”
“Give us some f*****g weapons please. We will not win with trash weapons. We need m-16’s, M-4’s, ACOG’s, red dots, ammunition, ammunition, ammunition, javelins, f*****g old AT-4s I know are probably in some storage unit. Frag grenades, and if not… may as well bring Body bags,” Vasquez captioned the post.
Referring to the steady stream of weapons supplies promised to Kiev by the US’s NATO allies, he queried in his post:
“I don't know where all these weapons are supposed to be coming in from or all the rest of our governments. I haven't seen anything that I can really use, that I know I can reliably use. Please f*****g help and stop saying you are sending s*** and actually send it.”
Vasquez, who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, previously posted a video on Twitter showing the remains of a decimated Russian tank in an undisclosed location. He claimed that the Ukrainian troops had entered the area, “taking out seven tanks”.
The official account of Ukraine's armed forces, according to the outlet, shared the video, while also praising the work of the country's International Legion. The latter comprises volunteers from other countries, predominantly military veterans.
As it continues its special operation launched in Ukraine following a request from the newly-recognised Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Russia has repeatedly warned foreign countries against allowing their citizens to travel to Ukraine in order to take part in hostilities. Moscow stressed that anyone firing at Russian troops during the special operation will be considered a valid target.