Individuals from the U.S. fighting in the Ukrainian Army does not equate to the U.S. and Russia being at war

A Facebook post blames the U.S. for waging an undeclared war against Russia. As proof of that, a video is offered which talks about the death of the American Corey John Nawrocki and some of his comrades during the invasion of the Russian Bryansk Oblast by neighboring Ukraine on the 27th of October 2024. However, the post hushes up the fact that Nawrocki was a foreign volunteer in the Ukrainian forces, not a member of the American forces, which do not participate in that conflict at all. It stands to reason that Nawrocki was a U.S. Marine for 20 years, though his service ended in 2021, meaning he was not killed on active duty in the U.S.  

A Facebook post shares a clip followed by the words: 

Has Congress or the President of the United States as Commander-in–Chief of the United States Armed Forces, declared war on Russia, since American soldiers are dying in Ukraine? 

In the video, as well as in the post itself, the U.S. is blamed for waging an undeclared war against Russia. As proof of that, a video is offered which talks about the death of the American Corey John Nawrocki and some of his comrades during the invasion of the Russian Bryansk Oblast by neighboring Ukraine on the 27th of October 2024.  

However, the post hushes up the fact that Nawrocki was a foreign volunteer in the Ukrainian forces, not a member of the American forces, which do not participate in that conflict at all. No Russian – American battles are being fought there, so there is no need to hold Congress and the president of the United States accountable. It stands to reason that Nawrocki was a U.S. Marine for 20 years, though his service ended in 2021, meaning he was not killed on active duty in the U.S.  

Moreover, the U.S. did not attack Russia, it was Russia that attacked Ukraine as early as 2014, with the invasion of Crimea and by sending agents like Igor Girkin–Strelkov, which incited the war in Donbas. Two years later, by Presidential Decree No. 248/2016, Ukraine allowed foreigners to serve in its forces, while on the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, so the state established the International Legion, in which it publicly called for fighters from various countries to join. As a sovereign, internationally recognized, and attacked state, Ukraine has the right to ask for help.  

Those who responded to that call are not mercenaries or soldiers of fortune—as the Kremlin claims, nor is it an involvement in the war of the countries from which these foreigners come—as the post claims. They acquire the status of members of the Ukrainian forces with all the rights and obligations arising from it. Nawrocki died as a Ukrainian soldier, just like someone from Kyiv or Kharkiv.  

This did not happen in an attack by the U.S. on Russia, but in the action of the Ukrainian forces, which was a countermeasure to the aggressive actions of Russia. The Ukrainians also had such an intrusion, albeit more successful, in its Kursk Oblast.  

It should also be mentioned that quite a few foreigners are fighting for Russia, although we cannot equate them with those who are fighting for Ukraine, since it is a victim of aggression, and Russia is not. Nepali, Sri Lankans, Indians, Somalis, Cubans, and others are fighting for Russia, so according to the logic of the post, the regular forces of Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Somalia, and Cuba are waging an undeclared war against Ukraine? Of course not. 

These are often individuals deceived by the possibility of earning a living that is not available in those poor countries, while the governments there usually do not approve of it. The exception is North Korea, since there are serious indications that the state is sending military aid to Russia.  

North Korea does that without declaring war on Ukraine, and not even Russia has declared war on it. It is Russia and North Korea that are currently waging an undeclared war, not the U.S. The Russian authorities even forbid citizens to call this war “war” and severely punish them for doing so, insisting on the euphemism “special military operation.” The point of that is to avoid responsibility for waging an aggressive war (which is a violation of both international and Russian law), as well as to avoid the rules of warfare. The euphemism is also used to manipulate Russian citizens that everything is fine, there is no war, and so on.  

The lie about the involvement of the U.S. in the conflict serves to justify Russia’s defeats. The superpower was defeated during the battles for Kyiv and Kharkiv, and it also lost the only district center, which was conquered in the all-out invasion—Kherson. Russia also had its cruiser, Moskva [Moscow], sink, while the city of Belgorod was significantly attacked, as well as the capital. Finally, the Ukrainians captured parts of the Kursk Oblast, which is the first foreign military incursion into Russia since 1941.  

However, to blame the U.S. for an attack on Russia based on a few fallen Americans is absurd. If Russian – American battles are being fought there, the proof of that would be more numerous: there would be many more dead, prisoners etc. It is highly unlikely that the U.S. would launch an attack on such a nuclear power. They avoid excessively provoking Russia and that is why they impose restrictions on Ukraine regarding the use of weapons they provide the state.  

And so, if the U.S. attacked Russia, it should break diplomatic relations with it and possibly use nuclear weapons against them or at the very least alert the UN about the attack, however, Russia is not doing that. Finally, if the U.S. really must attack Russia, it does not have to do it through Ukraine, it can be done through the NATO members that border Russia, such as: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Norway.  

From all the above we conclude that something indeed happened here, some Americans did die, however, the post and the video give a warped portrayal of the event and hush up important details surrounding it, therefore we assess that the post suffers from lack of context.

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