Ryan Routh, reported suspect in Trump assassination attempt, backed Ukraine

By Anastasiia Malenko and Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -Ryan Routh, the reported suspect in an apparent assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, visited Kyiv in the summer of 2022 to encourage people to fight for Ukraine, he told a news outlet that year.

Ukrainian officials distanced themselves from Routh on Monday, saying they had no links with him and warning that Russia would use his support for Ukraine as propaganda.

CNN, Fox News and the New York Times identified Routh, 58, of Hawaii, as the suspect in Sunday's incident, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment and Reuters could not independently verify his identity.

"A lot of the other conflicts are grey but this conflict is definitely black and white. This is about good versus evil," Routh said in an interview posted by Newsweek Romania in June 2022. His comments suggested he was in Kyiv at the time.

Reuters video footage showed him in Kyiv in May 2022 at protests calling for international support for Ukrainian fighters. A photograph taken in Kyiv at the time shows him holding a Ukrainian flag and wearing a scarf with the U.S. stars and stripes on it.

Videos posted on X also showed Routh attending events that month backing Ukraine, including a protest held in support of the Azov brigade, which took part in the particularly fierce battle for the southern city of Mariupol.

Some four months into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Routh perceived the war to be at a critical juncture and called for more international support.

Routh told Newsweek Romania his initial goal in Ukraine was to fight but the plan did not work out because his age and lack of military experience meant he was not accepted. Instead, he turned to promoting the cause to others, he said.

"If the governments will not send their official military, then we, civilians, have to pick up the torch and make this thing happen and we have gotten some wonderful people here but it is a small fraction of the number that should be here," Routh said.

Reuters could not independently verify his assertions.

Hundreds of non-Ukrainians have fought against Russian forces in Ukraine and others have helped try to recruit them.

PROPAGANDA WARNING

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the suspected assassination attempt, saying on X: "I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed."

The Kremlin said Routh's reported association with Ukraine showed that "playing with fire" had consequences.

Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said Sunday's incident was already a "topic for Russian propaganda" and suggested Moscow would spread conspiracy theories attempting to show a "Ukrainian trace" to the apparent assassination attempt.

"Of course, all of this is a lie," Andriy Kovalenko, who leads the center, said.

The Azov brigade's press service denied any connections with Routh, saying it had never communicated with him.

The International Legion, where many of the foreign fighters serve, also said it had no links with Routh and that he had never been part of it.

Routh told the Semafor news outlet in March 2023 that he had tried to recruit U.S.-trained Afghan fighters to fight for Ukraine against Russia but that Ukraine's defence ministry had not agreed to issue visas to them.

An official source in Kyiv said authorities were looking into his role, if any, in Ukraine. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Semafor article identified Routh as the head of the International Volunteer Center, which it said helped foreigners wanting to support Ukraine through military and humanitarian means.

Reuters contacted an aid group with the same name. Its founder said the NGO had no connection with Routh.

(Editing by Mike Collett-White, Timothy Heritage and Andrew Heavens)