A former Massachusetts city councilman and National Guardsman wanted in the United States on charges of possession of child pornography and obstruction of justice has fled the country and joined the Russian military fighting in Ukraine. In reporting the story, the Guardian specifies that Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, a former city councilor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, disappeared on January 7, two days before his scheduled appearance in Rhode Island.
A few days ago, Puello-Mota reappeared at a conscription center in Russia's Khanty-Mansiysk region of western Siberia, where he was filmed signing a military contract, sitting in a room full of photographs of Vladimir Putin and the Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu. “An American signed a military contract at the patriotic center of Khanty-Mansiysk,” reads a message accompanying the video published by the region's official Telegram channel.
Previously, Puello-Mota reportedly fought as a volunteer alongside Russian troops during the capture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka in February.
On that occasion, Russian propaganda channels had circulated a video in which a person – unrecognizable due to the blurry images – planted the US flag among the ruins of the Ukrainian city in support of Russia. “I'm here to put up the flag of the United States as a sign of friendship and support for everything that people are enduring,” he states in the video. “I'm proud to be here.”
According to 'The Republican', a Massachusetts publication, acquaintances of Puello-Mota recognized his voice in the clip. And in the most recent video, apparently confirming his participation in the battle for Avdiivka, Puello-Mota describes previous fighting in Ukraine as part of the international pro-Russian paramilitary group Pyatnashka. “I would definitely do it again,” he is heard saying.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has introduced a series of rules aimed at attracting foreign volunteers to strengthen its ranks. Citizens of Cuba, Syria, Nepal and Serbia have been deployed to the Russian front. But it is rare for fighters from EU countries, the UK or the US to join the Russian army. At least two British men are believed to be fighting with Moscow's forces on the front.
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