Ukrainian Foreign Legion and Azov Brigade refute links to suspected Trump Florida shooter

The suspected shooter of former US President Donald Trump was not a member of Ukraine's International Legion or the Azov Brigade, the two units said on Monday, despite reports and videos on social media linking him to them.

"We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity," the unit told Euronews. "Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate."

The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, also called the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, is a unit of the Ukrainian army composed of foreign volunteers. It was established in February 2022, right after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country.

After Routh was identified as a suspect in what the FBI has labelled a failed assassination attempt on Trump at a Florida golf course on Sunday, reports appeared stating that he travelled to the country to fight and recruit for them.

Meanwhile, a video appeared on social media linking Routh to the Azov Brigade, claiming he participated in a 2022 event to support the unit's Mariupol brigade.

The Azov Brigade said the event was a peaceful demonstration open to all and that Routh was never part of the unit.

"We would like to officially state that Ryan Wesley Routh has no connection to Azov and has never had any connection to Azov," the unit said in a statement on X.

"We believe that the spread of the narrative about the possible connection between Azov and Ryan Wesley Routh is playing along with Russian propaganda and discredits the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine and the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in general," it added.

What was Routh doing in Ukraine?

In the aftermath of the incident on Sunday, media outlets were quick to point out his public claims of support for Ukraine.

He reportedly told the New York Times in 2023 that he wanted to help Kyiv fend off Moscow's aggression and that he'd travelled to Ukraine just after the start of the war to help recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban.

Routh said that dozens of soldiers had expressed interest, according to the New York Times, and that he was trying to move them from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine.

However, it is unclear whether Routh managed to get any foreign volunteers to Ukraine since making these statements.

A July Facebook suggests that he was still actively trying to recruit foreign soldiers to Ukraine's cause in the summer but that he couldn't get the necessary authorisation.

"Soldiers, please do not call me," he said on the social media platform. "We are still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan soldiers and hope to have some answers in the coming months… please have patience."

Euronews could not independently verify any of Routh's claims.