Russia investigates US national fighting for Ukraine
(MENAFN) Russia's Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal probe into US citizen Ryan O'Leary for his alleged involvement in a Ukrainian military operation in Russia's Kursk Region. The investigation focuses on O'Leary’s suspected participation in a surprise Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory in August, which aimed to distract Russian forces from other frontlines. Ukrainian officials indicated that the captured area could later be used in peace negotiations.
The Investigative Committee has charged O'Leary with committing a terrorist act and engaging in mercenary activities. While the US citizen is being investigated in absentia, authorities are working to determine his whereabouts. O'Leary was briefly mentioned in a July New York Times article that described him as a former US Army National Guardsman and de facto commander of a Ukrainian unit called the Chosen Company. The article also suggested foreign fighters in Ukraine have been involved in alleged war crimes.
Moscow has repeatedly claimed that foreign mercenaries, who Ukraine refers to as volunteers, have been supporting military actions such as cross-border raids. In addition to O'Leary's case, Russia's Investigative Committee is also investigating Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro de Jesus for allegedly entering Kursk and committing war crimes, including the torture and killing of Russian prisoners of war.
Other foreign nationals, including Belgian Jetmir Hussein and US Army veteran Alexander Grant Tobiassen, have also been sentenced in absentia for their roles in the Ukrainian conflict.
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