This Memorial Day, as the world reflects on the costs of war, there is a story unfolding far from official battlefields that demands attention. While Washington maintains that the United States is not at war in Ukraine, a quiet but profound reality persists: hundreds of America’s most elite veterans—many of them retired—have chosen to fight there as volunteers, often at great personal risk and with little recognition. These are not mercenaries or reckless adventurers. They are former Special Forces operators, Navy SEALs, Marines, and intelligence officers who have answered a moral call they could not ignore. Their sacrifices, largely invisible to the American public, reveal a deeper truth about the war’s stakes and the character of those willing to pay its price.
For Maria Petrova, World Editor at World Today Journal, the story began years ago in Ukraine’s eastern regions, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating human toll of Russia’s unprovoked invasion. Her family’s losses—including a cousin killed in the early days of the 2022 invasion—deepened her understanding of the war’s personal dimensions. But it was the stories of American veterans who had crossed oceans to defend Ukraine that struck her most profoundly. These men and women, many of them decorated warriors with decades of experience, were making a deliberate choice: to fight for a country that was not their own, without official recognition, and often without the support of their home government.
One such veteran is Colonel Sam Hartwell (Ret.), a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army intelligence officer who has spent much of his career in Ukraine. Hartwell lost a close friend, Mark Paslawsky, a fellow West Point classmate and 82nd Airborne Division artillery officer, during the Battle of Ilovaisk in August 2014—one of the first American fatalities in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Paslawsky was posthumously awarded Ukraine’s Order of Danylo Halytsky by then-President Petro Poroshenko. Today, Hartwell lives in Kyiv, near a memorial wall bearing his friend’s portrait. “Sam’s grief is compounded by a particular sorrow,” Petrova explains. “For soldiers of his generation, witnessing America step back from the principles that have anchored the rules-based international order for nearly a century is professionally and personally devastating. Yet these men did not abandon those ideals. They did not wait for permission or policy to catch up with their conscience.”
Hartwell’s story is not unique. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, American veterans have volunteered in unprecedented numbers to support Ukraine’s defense. According to a New York Times investigation from September 2025, at least 92 American veterans have been killed in action in Ukraine. Yet the true number may be significantly higher—estimates from within the veteran community suggest casualties could exceed 150, with no official U.S. Entity tracking the deaths because these volunteers were not deployed under orders. To put this in context, the total number of U.S. Special Operators killed across the entire two-decade global war on terror is reported in the low 600s. If current estimates are accurate, the annual rate of loss among American SOF veterans in Ukraine rivals the per-year casualty rate of the entire war on terror.
The Quiet Professionals: Veterans Who Chose Conscience Over Comfort
The American veterans in Ukraine are not seeking glory or financial gain. They are among the most disciplined, experienced, and morally serious individuals in the U.S. Military. Many, like Bryan Pickens—a 20-year Special Forces veteran with Russian language skills—first arrived in Ukraine in 2019 as official advisers before retiring and returning as volunteers in 2022. Pickens now leads a combat and drone team of former U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) members, operating in active fighting and training. His teammates include Joshua Ransford, a former U.S. Marine who has worked as infantry, reconnaissance, sniper, and drone operator since early 2022, and Xen, a Navy SEAL veteran and drone pilot.
These veterans operate without salary, benefits, or official recognition. Pickens, for example, must periodically return to the U.S. To take contract work just to finance his ability to return to Ukraine. “They are the quiet professionals,” Petrova emphasizes. “They do not hold press conferences. They do not post on social media except to support their volunteering. They go, they fight, they bleed—and when they do not come back, their families grieve privately while Washington issues no statements.”
One of the most heartbreaking examples is that of Corey Nawrocki, a retired U.S. Marine First Sergeant and two-time Purple Heart recipient. Nawrocki, known as “Rocki,” was killed on October 27, 2024, during a sabotage and reconnaissance operation into Bryansk Oblast, Russia. According to accounts shared by a teammate who goes by the callsign “Tiny,” Nawrocki died attempting to rescue a wounded teammate under heavy fire. His body was later displayed by Russian soldiers, who broadcast his military ID to the world—a deliberate act of propaganda exploitation. Nawrocki’s mother, Sandy, described in a CNN interview how she was targeted online after his death, with trolls posting her home address and smiling emojis on posts about her son’s sacrifice. Despite his service, Nawrocki’s name does not appear on any official U.S. List of casualties in Ukraine.
Nawrocki was not alone. He died alongside three other international volunteers: Bradley Jennison (“Super Dave”), a U.S. Veteran; Mandeep Singh (“Poet”), a Canadian; and Simon Rajakisto (“Rauta”), a Swede. These men were part of an ad hoc coalition of Western veterans operating without formal government acknowledgment or protection. Their repatriation has been difficult, and their sacrifices largely unrecognized by the American public.
A Pattern of Targeted Assassinations
The losses extend beyond combat. In June 2023, a missile strike on a pizzeria in Kramatorsk killed several aid workers, including the celebrated Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina and American veteran Ian Tortorici, who had been serving in combat with the Ukrainian International Legion. According to accounts from within the veteran community, Russian intelligence had been monitoring American veterans specifically, and the strike may have been a targeted assassination. “This was not just a random act of war,” Petrova notes. “It was a deliberate attempt to eliminate Americans on foreign soil.”
The pattern became clearer in October 2024, when Corey Nawrocki and his team were killed during a deep reconnaissance mission into Russian territory. The details of their final moments, shared by “Tiny” under anonymity for security reasons, reveal the brutality of modern warfare and the indifference of those who exploit it. Nawrocki’s body was displayed as a trophy, his military ID paraded before the world—a stark reminder of the human cost of this conflict.
The Invisible Ledger: Why America’s Casualties Are Unofficial
Officially, the U.S. Has lost no active-duty service members in Ukraine. This is technically true—but it obscures a far more complex reality. The veterans fighting in Ukraine are civilians, not soldiers. They are not counted in any official ledger because they were never officially deployed. Yet their sacrifices are every bit as real. The New York Times’ investigation highlighted this discrepancy, noting that while the U.S. Tracks the deaths of its active-duty personnel, there is no mechanism to account for the hundreds of veterans who have chosen to fight as volunteers.
Petrova emphasizes that these are not green recruits swept up in idealism. They are the most capable, most experienced warriors the U.S. And NATO have ever produced. Many have operated in every major theater of conflict over the past three decades. They understand the stakes of Ukraine’s war—not just for Europe, but for the global rules-based order that has defined international relations for nearly a century. “They are voting with their lives,” she says. “The least You can do is count the votes honestly.”
Yet the American military and political establishment has largely looked away. Legal and diplomatic concerns complicate the official narrative of non-involvement, and the veterans themselves are disinclined to seek attention. They are the “quiet professionals” for a reason. But their silence is not neutral. It leaves a gap in understanding that undermines the very principles they are fighting to defend.
Why Ukraine? The Strategic Stakes
The veterans who have chosen Ukraine did not do so lightly. They recognize what a Russian victory would mean for Europe’s security architecture and the credibility of American power at a moment when that credibility is already strained. They understand that Ukraine is not just a regional conflict but a proxy battle in a broader era of great power competition—one where the strategic center of gravity for this century runs directly through Kyiv.
“These men have seen war up close,” Petrova explains. “They understand the odds. They are making a deliberate choice, with no orders, little to no salary, no benefits, and no government waiting to bring their bodies home, to put themselves in the line of fire for a country that is not theirs. That choice deserves to be known and understood by the American public.”
Yet the American public remains largely unaware of their sacrifices. The war in Ukraine is often framed as a distant conflict, one that does not directly involve U.S. Troops. But the reality is far more personal. The veterans fighting there are not just defending Ukraine; they are defending the ideals that have anchored the international order for generations. Their presence is a testament to the moral clarity that has eluded official Washington.
Honoring the Fallen: A Memorial for the Quiet Professionals
Ukraine is doing its part to honor the foreign veterans who have fallen on its soil. Retired Ukrainian Military Intelligence officer Vitali Ostapchuk has dedicated himself to establishing memorials across the country, including a national memorial in Bucha—near the mass grave site marking Russia’s early invasion atrocities. Petrova and Hartwell have suggested naming it “The Quiet Professionals,” a tribute to the unsung heroes who have given so much.
Petrova has visited Bucha multiple times to honor Ukraine’s dead. She will return now to honor the American volunteers who have also fallen there. “These men and women deserve to be named,” she insists. “The silence around them is not neutral. Meaningful dialogue, honest reckoning, and sound policy can only follow from what we are first willing to see.”
What Happens Next?
The story of America’s veteran volunteers in Ukraine is not just a tale of sacrifice. It is a call to action. The lessons they carry home—written in blood on a battlefield that has become the proving ground for modern warfare—are directly applicable to active-duty service members in other theaters and to the emerging threats facing U.S. Homeland security. Ignoring these lessons would be a compounding tragedy.
As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, the question remains: What will America do with this story? Will it acknowledge the sacrifices of these quiet professionals, or will their names remain invisible on an unofficial ledger? The answer will define not just how we remember them, but how we prepare for the challenges ahead.
The next official update on Ukraine’s war and its international impact will be provided by the U.S. Department of State in its next quarterly report, scheduled for release on June 15, 2025. In the meantime, readers are encouraged to share their thoughts and questions in the comments below or on our social media channels.
Maria Petrova is an international journalist and editor with 14+ years of experience covering global affairs, geopolitics, and human rights. She holds an MA in International Relations from Sofia University and has contributed to Balkan Insight and World Today Journal.