WATCH: Ukrainian-Born U.S. Army Vet Fighting Russia Rips its ‘Strong’ Military. ‘We’re Just Kicking Their Asses, Literally!’
A U.S. Army veteran fighting in Ukraine ripped Russia’s supposed military might on CNN Thursday.
Vladimir Putin’s forces remain bogged down during the fifth week of the war, as Ukrainian defenders continue to inflict heavy losses. NATO estimated this week that as many as 15,000 Russians have died invading Ukraine.
No matter how the Kremlin spins it, Russia appears to be struggling, as even senior military leaders are reportedly struggling with low morale.
One of the men fending off the invasion, a Ukrainian-born U.S. Army veteran named Miro Popovich, taunted Russia in an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon Thursday.
Lemon asked, “What type of equipment do you need to fight the Russians in the air or on the ground?”
Popovich called for a no-fly zone, but said anti-aircraft equipment would suffice:
We need nato to close our sky. They keep bombing our civilian neighborhoods. Our schools, bomb shelters, and it’s hard to operate — it’s really hard for a soldier to go to war knowing that his family is being bombed at the very moment at the bomb shelter. I think that’s the number one priority. Anti-missiles and antiaircraft, regarding the ground forces, as you know we, in the Ukrainian military, are doing pretty well against tanks and armored vehicles and their troops. But air defense is lacking.
Lemon asked Popovich if he shares fears Russians might use nuclear weapons, should a no-fly zone be imposed.
“Well, of course, I cannot promise that it will not trigger it, but right now Ukraine is showing the whole world Russia is not as strong as they want the world to see,” Popovich said. “Ukraine is 28 times smaller than Russia, and we’re just kicking their asses, literally.”
According to Rolling Stone, Popovich served in Afghanistan after he was awarded a U.S. green card at age 19. Now 32, the Army veteran is back in his native country as part of a civil defense force.
He holds dual Ukrainian-U.S. citizenship. He told Rolling Stone when the U.S. embassy in Kyiv asked Americans to leave Ukraine before the war, he refused to even read the message.
Popovich has been active on Instagram since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
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Watch above, via CNN.
