Ukraine brushes off links to alleged Trump gunman

KYIV — Ukraine on Monday dismissed links to Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who authorities arrested Sunday for allegedly attempting to shoot former United States President Donald Trump.

Last year, 58-year-old Routh told the New York Times he was willing “to fight and die in Ukraine” in a comment for an article about American volunteers aiding Ukraine’s war effort against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

Routh also filmed videos on Ukraine’s Independence Square, presenting himself as a recruiter for the International Ukrainian Military Intelligence unit for volunteer fighters, calling for more foreigners to join the Ukrainian army.  

Ukraine’s military wanted to make clear Monday morning that it had no association with Routh.

“American citizen Ryan Routh has never served in the International Legion and has no relation to the unit. Rumors disseminated in certain media are not true,” Ukraine’s International Legion said in a statement, distancing itself from the failed assassin.

The FBI said Sunday night it is “investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination,” after the Secret Service opened fire on the gunman who was lying in wait for Republican presidential candidate Trump near the former president’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ukraine’s leadership condemned the new assassination attempt on Trump, who also survived after being shot in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

“I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world. We sincerely hope that everyone remains safe,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly,” he added.

Trump and Kyiv have had a thorny relationship ever since the infamous phone call with Zelenskyy that led to Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019, after which he was accused of seeking to influence the 2020 U.S. election by leaning on the Ukrainian leader to investigate current President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine.

Trump has declined to say that he wants Ukraine to win its war against Russia, while adding that he would be able to halt the conflict — though the battle has raged in Ukraine’s east since 2014, including during the four-year period in which Trump was president from 2017 to 2021.

Routh’s accounts on Facebook and X have been suspended. Some Trump-supporting platform users, however, have connected Routh to Ukraine in an apparent bid to undermine Kyiv ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. next week.

Once there, he plans to present his Ukraine peace formula to the White House, including Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris — and also Trump.