WASHINGTON: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given the smaller nation's embassy in Washington an unexpected role: recruitment center for Americans who want to join the fight.
Diplomats working out of the embassy, in a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons to defend against an increasingly brutal Russian onslaught.
"They really feel that this war is unfair, unprovoked," said Ukraine's military attaché, Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi.
"They feel that they have to go and help."
US volunteers represent just a small subset of foreigners seeking to fight for Ukraine, who in turn comprise just a tiny fraction of the international assistance that has flowed into the country.
Still, it is a a reflection of the passion, supercharged in an era of social media, that the attack and the mounting civilian casualties have stirred.
"This is not mercenaries who are coming to earn money," Kremenetskyi said.
"This is people of goodwill who are coming to assist Ukraine to fight for freedom."
The US government discourages Americans from going to fight in Ukraine, which raises legal and national security issues.
Since the February 24 invasion, the embassy in Washington has heard from at least 6,000 people inquiring about volunteering for service, the vast majority of them American citizens, said Kremenetskyi, who oversees the screening of potential US recruits.
Half the potential volunteers were quickly rejected and didn't even make it to the Zoom interview, the general said.
They lacked the required military experience, had a criminal background or weren't suitable for other reasons such as age, including a 16-year-old boy and a 73-year-old man.
Some who expressed interest were rejected because the embassy said it couldn't do adequate vetting.
The general didn't disclose the methods used to screen people.
Kremenetskyi, who spoke to The Associated Press just after returning from the Pentagon for discussions on the military hardware his country needs for its defense, said he appreciates the support from both the US government and the public.
"Russians can be stopped only with hard fists and weapons," he said.
So far, about 100 US citizens have made the cut.
They include veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with combat experience, including some helicopter pilots, the attaché said.
They must make their own way to Poland, where they are to cross at a specified point, with their own protective gear but without a weapon, which they will get after they arrive.
They will be required to sign a contract to serve, without pay, in the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government says about 20,000 foreigners from various nations have already joined.
Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a former Liberal lawmaker in Canada who is helping to facilitate recruitment there, said about 1,000 Canadians have applied to fight for Ukraine, the vast majority of whom don't have any ties to the country.
"The volunteers, a very large proportion are ex-military, these are people that made that tough decision that they would enter the military to stand up for the values that we subscribe to," Wrzesnewskyj said.
"And when they see what is happening in Ukraine they can't stand aside."
It's not clear how many US citizens seeking to fight have actually reached Ukraine, a journey the State Department has urged people not to make.
"We've been very clear for some time, of course, in calling on Americans who may have been resident in Ukraine to leave, and making clear to Americans who may be thinking of travelling there not to go," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters recently.
US citizens aren't required to register overseas.
The State Department says it's not certain how many have entered Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
Under some circumstances, Americans could face criminal penalties, or even risk losing their citizenship, by taking part in an overseas conflict, according to a senior federal law enforcement official.
But the legal issues are only one of many concerns for US authorities, who worry about what could happen if an American is killed or captured or is recruited while over there to work for a foreign intelligence service upon their return home, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.
The official and independent security experts say some of the potential foreign fighters may be white supremacists, who are believed to be fighting on both sides of the conflict.
They could become more radicalised and gain military training in Ukraine, thereby posing an increased danger when they return home.
"These are men who want adventure, a sense of significance and are harking back to World War II rhetoric," said Anne Speckhard, who has extensively studied foreigners who fought in Syria and elsewhere as director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.
Ukraine may be getting around some of the potential legal issues by only facilitating the overseas recruitment, and directing volunteers to sign their contracts, and receive a weapon, once they arrive in the country.
Also, by assigning them to the territorial defense forces, and not front-line units, it reduces the chance of direct combat with Russians, though it's by no means eliminated.
The general acknowledges the possibility that any foreigners who are captured could be used for propaganda purposes.
But he didn't dwell on the issue, focusing instead on the need for his country to defend itself against Russia.
"We are fighting for our existence," he said.
"We are fighting for our families, for our land. And we are not going to give up."
The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday night that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States, an effort to put into law the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine.
Going further than Biden's import ban on Russian oil, the bill making its way through Congress would also encourage a review of Russia's status in the World Trade Organization and signal U.S. support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations, as the U.S. works to economically isolate the regime.
Lawmakers in both parties have been eager to act, willing to risk higher gas prices at home in order to support Ukraine with a show of U.S. bipartisanship.
The legislation was approved Wednesday, 414-17, and now goes to the Senate.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, who helped draft the bill, acknowledged it may cost more to fill up tanks at home to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's tanks abroad.
"It is one way to demonstrate our solidarity," Doggett said during the debate.
The remarkable bipartisan resolve in Congress to deter Russia and help Ukraine has acted as an accelerant on the White House's own strategy, pushing the Biden administration to move more quickly than it would have a rare example of the legislative branch muscling its way into foreign policy.
Just days ago, the Biden administration was reluctant to ban Russian oil imports, worried about reducing the global energy supply and causing spikes in gas prices at a time when U.S. households already face record-setting inflation.
"We've been talking about doing the Russian (energy) ban for a while, and we're so pleased the president has done that," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote.
While Russian oil makes up only a small part of U.S. imports, it carries a high price for lawmakers in Congress who viewed the ban as a moral test in blocking an economic lifeline for Putin's regime.
Lawmakers appeared especially moved by Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy's "desperate plea" for help during a weekend video call with lawmakers.
"We stand with the people of Ukraine, Democrats and Republicans alike," said Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa.
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy said Republicans would have preferred a tougher bill on Russia, alongside efforts to allow more energy production in the U.S. Nevertheless, they wanted to send a show of support.
"Our conference overwhelmingly does not want Russian oil; we want American oil," McCarthy said.
The GOP leader distanced himself from former President Donald Trump's views that Putin is a "genius" for his Ukraine strategy.
"I do not think anything savvy or genius about Putin. I think Putin is evil. He's a dictator," McCarthy said.
The action comes as Congress is on track to approve nearly $14 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, a package that has swelled in size as the brutality of the war intensifies.
More than 2 million Ukrainians have fled the country in the most rapid exodus since World War II.
The legislation in many ways is symbolic, since Biden has already announced the Russian oil ban.
But the legislative push sets up the next showdown over Russia's trade status as Congress presses for restrictions on other imports from Russia that the administration has so far resisted.
The White House intervened over the weekend as key lawmakers from both the House and Senate prepared a more punitive bill that would begin to strip Russia of its permanent normal trade relation status, a move that would have opened the door to tariffs on other goods coming from Russia to the U.S.
Amid the administration's objections, Democratic leaders in Congress shelved the emerging bill rather than forcing a confrontation with their party's president.
Instead, the new legislation approved by the House stops short of suspending Russia's normal trade status.
Rather, it calls for a review of Russia's status at the World Trade Organization.
The House bill also says the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act should be bolstered to allow the president to impose sanctions on any foreign person who has "directly or indirectly engaged in serious human rights abuse."
The Democrats in Congress are toggling between pushing their priorities and allowing the Biden administration leeway as it works with allies in Europe and beyond to stop Putin's war.
Senators, though, remain eager to curb Russian trade with restrictions on imports to the U.S., and Republican senators may try to amend the bill once it comes up for a Senate debate, likely in the week ahead.
The bipartisan bill as initially drafted would have suspended normal trade relations with Russia as well as Belarus, the neighboring Russian ally that has been used as a launch point for incursions into northern Ukraine.
The House approved a massive spending bill Wednesday night that would rush USD 13.6 billion in US aid to battered Ukraine and its European allies, after top Democrats were forced to abruptly drop their plan to include fresh funds to battle COVID-19.
Passage of the Ukraine aid and the USD 1.5 trillion government-wide legislation that carried it let both parties lay claim to election-year victories for their priorities.
Democrats won treasured domestic initiatives, Republicans achieved defense boosts, and both got their imprint on funds to counter Russia's brutal invasion of its western neighbour.
Senate approval was assured by week's end or perhaps slightly longer.
Hours earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had to abandon the bill's USD 15.6 billion for combating the pandemic, a decision she called "heartbreaking" and that spelled defeat for a top priority of President Joe Biden and party leaders.
The money was mostly to bolster U.S. supplies of vaccines, treatments and tests and battle the disease around the world, but a Democratic revolt over Republican-demanded state aid cuts to cover the new initiatives' costs forced her to scrap that spending.
"We've got a war going on in Ukraine," Pelosi told reporters, explaining the urgency Democrats felt in making concessions in bargaining with Republicans.
"We have important work that we're doing here."
She said with her party in the 50-50 Senate needing at least 10 GOP votes to pass legislation, Democrats "are going to have to know there has to be compromised."
The House approved the overall bill in two separate votes.
The measure's security programs were overwhelmingly approved by 361-69, the rest by 260-171, with most Republicans opposed.
The Ukraine aid included USD 6.5 billion for the U.S.
costs of sending troops and weapons to Eastern Europe and equipping allied forces there in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion and repeated bellicose threats.
There was another USD 6.8 billion to care for refugees and provide economic aid to allies, and more to help federal agencies enforce economic sanctions against Russia and protect against cyber threats at home.
Biden had requested USD 10 billion for the package.
Pelosi said she talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for 45 minutes Wednesday.
She said they discussed the weapons and other assistance his country needs and "the crimes against humanity that Putin is committing," including a Russian airstrike that destroyed a maternity hospital.
"This is the beast that Putin is," Pelosi said.
While enmity toward Putin and a desire to send assistance to the region is virtually universal in Congress, lawmakers have had a hard time finding unity on other steps.
In one area of agreement, the House also planned a vote on a bill banning Russian oil imports Biden imposed such a ban this week and levying other sanctions, underscoring lawmakers' eagerness to demonstrate they're taking action.