American journalist joins Ukrainian forces fighting against Russian troops

An American journalist has joined the Ukrainian forces fighting against the Russians deployed to pro-Kremlin eastern Ukraine.

Speaking on MSNBC on Monday night as a guest on Joy Reid’s evening talk program, Malcolm Nance, 61, a former MSNBC foreign affairs analyst, who was wearing full military camouflage attire and holding an assault rifle, said he had joined the Ukrainian International Legion.

“It’s time to take action here, “Nance said, adding that, “I joined the International Legion here in Ukraine … to help this country fight” against Russia.

The International Legion, also known as the Foreign Legion, consists of mercenaries from the US, the UK, India, Sweden, Lithuania, one Belgian and a Finnish, in addition to mercenaries from dozens of more countries. Ukraine claims over 20,000 mercenaries from more than 50 countries joined the unit.

The longtime contributor to the network, who specialized in national security, intelligence and military matters and is a former US naval intelligence senior chief petty officer, joined the International Legion earlier this month.

In related news on Monday, two British mercenaries, who Russian forces captured in Ukraine, appeared on Russian TV asking to be freed in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine's Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Russia politician who had been taken into custody by the Kiev government forces.

Meantime, a recent report said the US military was using the Ukraine conflict to “prepare for future fights against a major adversary such as Russia or China,"

US military using Ukraine conflict to prepare for wars against Russia and China: Report

The US military is using the Ukraine conflict to “prepare for future fights against a major adversary such as Russia or China, according to the Associated Press.

The New York-based Associated Press news agency reported on Saturday that the US military was training its troops to wage war in an environment heavily influenced by the Russian military campaign against Ukraine.

The aim of this month’s military drills in California was to prepare for future wars against Russia or China, the news agency said.

Meanwhile, Russia said it had launched a new stage of military operation in Ukraine, carrying out dozens of night-time airstrikes in eastern Ukraine.

Day 55: Russia launches new stage of operation in Ukraine

Russia says it has launched a new stage of military operation in Ukraine, carrying out dozens of airstrikes in eastern Ukraine overnight.

The Russian defense ministry announced on Tuesday that its high-precision missiles had hit multiple Ukrainian positions while its other airstrikes targeted dozens of military assets, including two warehouses in the Lugansk and Kharkiv regions containing warheads of Tochka-U tactical missiles.

Russia launched its special military operation” in Ukraine about two months ago.

Since then the United States and its western allies have been extending wide-scale aid, including weapons, intelligence and media support, to the Kiev government to fight Russian forces.

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