Navy SEAL Deserter Killed During Intense Ukraine Battle - Rolling Stone

A erstwhile American peculiar relation died aboriginal Thursday greeting aft being wounded days earlier warring alongside the Ukrainian subject during aggravated combat successful the eastbound frontline metropolis of Bakhmut. 

Daniel Swift, 35, lived mostly successful the Pacific Northwest and served arsenic a Navy SEAL. The U.S. Navy told Rolling Stone connected Friday that Swift is presently designated arsenic an progressive deserter, and has been since March 2019. 

Divorced, helium leaves down 4 children. Swift represents a climbing fig of U.S. subject veterans that person been killed implicit the past twelvemonth portion warring Russian forces contempt President Biden’s pleas for Americans to enactment away. News of his decease was archetypal reported by TIME magazine.

Adam Thiemann — a erstwhile U.S. Army Ranger who antecedently fought successful Ukraine with Swift and stayed successful interaction with his platoon done telephone calls and late-night substance messages — told Rolling Stone that during an cognition successful Bakhmut connected the nighttime of Jan. 14 and into the aboriginal greeting of Jan. 15, Russian forces launched an anti-personnel rocket-propelled grenade astatine Swift and 2 different soldiers, knocking them down.

An American quality official, who archetypal told Rolling Stone astir Swift’s death, said helium suffered a monolithic traumatic encephalon wounded and died aboriginal Thursday morning. The authoritative asked not to beryllium named due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publicly. 

Thiemann wrote connected Facebook that Ukrainian troops were doing everything they could to support Swift alive, but their resources are stretched bladed arsenic they effort to accommodate each of the wounded. 

Swift was near successful captious information with terrible caput trauma, per Thiemann, who was not connected the cognition astatine the clip but briefed by his platoon mates. The different 2 soldiers are unchangeable and successful recovery. 

Contacted by Rolling Stone, Swift’s sister confirmed his decease but declined to marque a connection connected behalf of the family. 

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For months, aggravated warring astir the tiny metropolis of Bakhmut successful the Donetsk portion of Ukraine has resembled a battlefield retired of the First World War alternatively than the insurgencies of the post-9/11 era. 

Ukrainian soldiers combat from trenches arsenic waves of Russian soldiers and hired guns from the Wagner Group—a nominally backstage subject institution tally by Putin confidante Yevgeney Prigozhin—assault implicit unfastened terrain. This warfare of attrition is earthy and disfigured arsenic weapon battles rage for hours connected extremity amid dense artillery bombardments. Success is measured successful patches of ungraded and whether 1 cheats decease to spot different day. 

Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who formerly served arsenic caput of U.S. Army Europe, told Rolling Stone that Bakhmut has go a trial of Prigozhin’s power wrong the Russian subject hierarchy. 

“His PWC Wagner enactment of mercenaries has been focused connected this country for months, without overmuch success, pushing thousands of Russian troops into the ‘meat grinder,’ said Hodges. “His unit consists of veterans of PWC Wagner but includes a ample percent of which are precocious mobilized and poorly-trained, successful an effort to overwhelm Ukrainian defenders with mass.” 

He added: “The quality of Ukrainian soldiers to defy aggregate human-wave attacks each day, supported by seemingly endless Russian artillery strikes, is remarkable.  It is besides showing the Ukrainian wide unit that Ukraine tin clasp backmost Russian attacks, contempt superior numbers of Russian troops, with what they have, though astatine precise precocious cost.  This is important due to the fact that this volition let Ukraine to physique up caller forces for a large counter-offensive successful the Spring, alternatively of pushing each caller worker oregon limb strategy into the Bahkmut area. Incredible absorption astatine the tactical level volition output violative accidental astatine the operational level.” 

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White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday that the U.S. Treasury Department volition enforce further sanctions connected Wagner Group adjacent week and designate the backstage subject institution arsenic a transnational transgression organization. 

Before helium died successful Ukraine, Swift joined the U.S. Navy aft a precocious schoolhouse vocation of some shot and wrestling, according to a self-published memoir connected Amazon that Swift wrote successful August 2020 nether what appears to beryllium a pseudonym. The publication is called: “The Fall of a Man.”

Ironically, helium arrived astatine footwear campy connected June 28, 2005—the time of Operation Red Wings successful Afghanistan and the taxable of the 2013 movie ‘Lone Survivor,’ starring histrion Mark Wahlberg. 19 U.S. work members died during that operation. 

By the clip helium was 30 years old, Swift claims to person deployed 5 times to combat missions successful Iraq, Afghanistan, and successful Yemen successful 2018. Swift is decorated with medals similar the Legion of Merit and aggregate idiosyncratic and run awards. Later, helium served arsenic a constabulary serviceman for Washington State Patrol and the Medford Police Department successful Oregon. 

Yet, by April 2019, a felony seat warrant had gone retired for Swift for the superior complaint of mendacious imprisonment related to his divorce. The justice successful North County Superior acceptable his bail astatine $250 thousand. The San Diego County Sherriff’s Department told Rolling Stone the warrant is inactive active. A period earlier the U.S. Navy listed him arsenic an progressive deserter. 

Thiemann told Rolling Stone that erstwhile Swift unexpectedly turned up successful Irpin, Ukraine, helium had nary instrumentality of his ain but would inactive spell connected operations. 

“He lone had 1 uniform…He utilized duct portion to portion armored plates to his thorax and backmost to spell connected people until helium was fixed a sheet carrier,” said Thiemann. “After our SEAL Team Six feline left, helium led our squad successful Crimea, Severodonetsk, and Svyatohirsk, and continued to pb the squad aft I left. He was 1 of the hardest and astir tactically proficient men I person ever met.” 

Swift served successful the aforesaid platoon arsenic different unpaid worker who was killed this past weekend: Canadian national Grygorii “Greg” Tsekhmistrenko, who served arsenic their medic. 

“Despite having nary subject experience, Greg was 1 of the champion soldiers I person ever met,” said Thiemann. “Under changeless bombardment from the Russians successful Hostomel connected the archetypal time of the war, with nary rifle, nary weapon, and small accidental of survival, helium was determination — with lone his med container — acceptable to dice for his country. No substance however atrocious oregon however acheronian things ever got, Greg was positive.” 

Greg’s father, Vitalii Tsekhmistrenko, told CBC News from Kyiv connected Monday that his lad “wanted to physique a location connected the h2o aft the war.” At Greg’s ceremonial connected Friday successful Kyiv, the platoon person said Greg died trying to prevention Swift, said Thiemann, who attended the memorial service. 

The beingness of a combatant affords small clip to instrumentality banal of each 1 has mislaid successful martial time. You miss day parties. You miss wedding anniversaries. Baseball games and creation recitals. Your child’s archetypal steps and the warmth of a spouse nether a chill acceptable of sheets. Often, infantry soldiers are near with divorcement and debt. Bad memories and different funeral. And past another. 

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When asked however helium was coping with the nonaccomplishment of friends successful some the Afghanistan and Ukraine war, Thiemann said: “I conscionable americium bushed of it. I privation the warfare to extremity due to the fact that the outgo volition lone increase, but adjacent worse I privation to basal up for what is right. It is simply a truly unspeakable happening that is going on. It breaks my bosom that astir radical volition ne'er recognize the extent of their sacrifice and it breaks my bosom that they’ve had to marque that sacrifice.” 

Jim LaPorta covers nationalist information and subject affairs. He is simply a erstwhile U.S. Marine infantryman and a seasoned of the Afghanistan war. You tin travel him connected Twitter @JimLaPorta