Putin Is Waging War Against Russia Too

As a direct consequence of their country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, over 300,000 Russians have been killed or wounded, and tens of millions more are economically worse off than they were on February 23, 2022. Although over 70% of Russian respondents continue to tell pollsters that they "personally support the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine," Kremlin-controlled propaganda has largely succeeded in preventing its audience from learning the truth about Russian forces butchering Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, or about the Russian military's use of Russian convicts as cannon fodder, or the ongoing Russian shelling of civilian neighborhoods in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson.

There is every reason to believe that, if Russians were aware of why their armed forces were sent into Ukraine and what it has done in the nearly two years since openly attacking, they would be opposed. As late as December 2021, polling showed that only 8% of Russians supported "send[ing] Russian armed forces to participate in battles in Ukraine."

As a likely result of this fact, the Kremlin's domestic propaganda campaign in the weeks leading up to the invasion did not focus on concepts of patriotism, imperialism, or history, nor did it claim that Kyiv would fall "in three days." Instead, Russia's rulers prepared their population for war by claiming right up until the very end that there was no Russian invasion force positioned on Ukraine's borders and that war was anything but "imminent."

The lie worked. In September 2021, only 47% of Russians said that they "would like to see Vladimir Putin in the post of president after the end of his current term in 2024." Yet despite the sanctions, isolation, death, and destruction that Vladimir Putin has brought on his own country in the years since, in December 2023 an all-time high 78% of Russians answered that they hoped to see their president-for-life continue in office following the elections that are slated to be held this coming March.

Contrary to Kremlin officials' increasingly outlandish words, Putin and those around him do not act as if they are involved in an existential struggle against the "Collective West." Their invasion of Ukraine has left Russia's western border—the one with NATO–significantly less physically protected than it was. Instead, the Kremlin acts as if it understands that the real threat to the current regime's continuing rule is domestic. While its forward progress on the battlefield in Ukraine has stalled, its war against Russia itself has—thus far—proven to be a paradoxical success.

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"We didn't want our children's stories to be lost," says Karla Webber.

Like thousands of mothers in Ukraine, Webber is mourning the death of her son on the front lines in the war against Russia's invasion. But the home where he grew up is not in war-shattered Ukraine. It is a short drive from the Pacific Ocean through the rolling green countryside of Washington State.

Andrew Webber was among the Americans who headed to Ukraine to fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's army with a sense of mission. He is among those who will never return.

The mothers of three of the American soldiers killed in battle in Ukraine told their stories to Newsweek. They are part of Moms Taking Action, a group of American mothers whose sons were killed in the war. All voiced pride in their sons, but also concern over American commitment to the war, with signs of U.S. support flagging after well over two years of war that have seen Russian forces making new advances into Ukrainian territory.

"Ukraine didn't ask for war. This was thrown on them through no fault of their own. It's just not fair, it's not okay, hearing about children that are going missing, families that are being destroyed," says Terrie Lawrence, whose son Lance was killed with Webber.

Both were senior scouts in the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade when their positions were overrun by Russian forces in July 2023. They provided covering fire as their comrades fell back.

"Andrew was a person who always did the right thing, even if it was really hard," his mother said. "Us moms, you know, we are partners with the other moms of Ukraine. I know the loss and the devastation there has been."

Andrew Webber grew up in the small town of East Raymond, a two-hour drive south from Seattle. He loved books and was always interested in the military. A 2005 graduate of the United States Military Academy West Point, he was deployed in Iraq and twice in Afghanistan. After returning, he got married and got a law doctorate and seemed set up for a comfortable future. But then Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

He said: 'I'm going to go over and check out what's going on there for myself," his mother said. "That's how Andy was. I mean, he just saw a problem and he would fix it and he would work and he wouldn't stand by and do nothing. He couldn't stand injustice."

Lance Lawrence, of Vandalia, Ohio, also liked to fix things, his mother said. He was a skilled carpenter and construction worker, but he was also a Marine veteran who knew how to handle machine guns and mortars.

"When he was 10 years old, people would come into town for the air show and he would know more about planes, their whole entire bio, what kind of ammunition they had, if they were in a war. And people would be like: 'How does your 10 year old son know these things?' Just reading books and retaining all of that information," Terrie Lawrence says.

He saw the war in Ukraine as a battle against injustice, she said.

"We know the risks and so did he, but it's worth it to him. It's better than sitting at home and regretting not standing up for what's right," she said.

While Andrew Webber and Lance Lawrence were killed fighting side by side, Jericho Skye Magallon died in a different battle, but his motivations were the same. He flew to Ukraine within days of the Russian invasion.

"He felt compelled. He told me it was like watching bullies beating up a child on the playground and he had to go. So he bought his own ticket, he expedited his passport and I drove him to the airport," says his mother Alison Magallon.

Jericho Magallon, of Ojai, California, volunteered for a week in March, 2022 at Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, which helps Ukrainian forces and civilians affected by the war. It was a dangerous time in Kyiv.

"We were all amazed by this man who came all the way from California to our hub. Jericho was very motivated and open to any option where he can help," said Maria Pysarenko, press secretary for the group. Before long, he made it to the fighting itself.

Jericho Magallon left behind two young children, one of whom was born after his death. He was killed near Bakhmut as he fought with Ukrainian Special Forces in September 2023.

U.S. support flagging

While the United States has been Ukraine's biggest foreign backer, with more than $60 billion in military assistance provided so far, it has not sent troops. That has not discouraged hundreds of Americans, many with previous military experience, from signing up to fight for Ukrainian units.

Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the presence of the American volunteers.

"The Americans who fight on a battlefield in Ukraine have done a lot. I would say it's an invaluable contribution in using Western weapons. Many of them have shared their knowledge with Ukrainian soldiers, and this knowledge spreads all over military units," said a Ukrainian officer, speaking as a representative of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) with the codename Vlad K.

Foreign volunteers also brought Western cultural and ethical values, demonstrating these principles directly on the battlefield at a time when Ukraine is striving for NATO membership, the officer told Newsweek. And perhaps more important than anything, they build a communications bridge between Ukraine and the U.S.

"They are kind of liaison officers, connecting mechanisms that help improve the process," Vlad. K said. "They explain to us how to communicate with representatives of the United States, while also helping Americans understand what Ukrainians are like and why they speak the way they do."

Such a role has gained importance as appetite in the U.S. for supporting Ukraine has been shaken, with some Republican lawmakers arguing that America should not be spending so much. A poll by the Pew Research Center in May said 24 percent of Americans thought the U.S. was not providing enough aid to Ukraine, a rise from 18 percent in November 2023, but still well behind the 31 percent of Americans who thought Ukraine was getting too much U.S. aid.

Webber said she had been shocked to hear from her son about the lack of basic equipment and ammunition for Ukraine's forces.

"Provide aid to Ukraine, weapons, everything that they need. Right now, today, do it. That's the right thing. It might be hard, but it's right, and that's what we do," she said.

Ukraine does not give regular updates on how many battlefield casualties it has suffered and that includes among foreign fighters. It is classified as secret information under wartime laws. One volunteer organization told Newsweek it had helped some 40 American families with the repatriation of mortal remains.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed. Western estimates put the number higher, but with Russian deaths far higher still.

Andrew Webber and Lance Lawrence were on a mission when they were overtaken by Russian forces.

"Their job was direct contact with the enemy; they would leap out of their Hummers onto enemy positions, eliminate them, and take prisoners," said officer Serhiy Tsekhotsky of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. "The loss of the defenders during the assault was a great tragedy for the brigade."

Jericho Magallon was killed two months later. He had served as a military police officer in the US Army for four years and signed up with the Special Forces of the Ukrainian Army. He served for 10 months before taking a break to come and see his six-month-old son. During his visit, his wife got pregnant with a second child that he was never to see.

Jericho Magallon had learned to speak Ukrainian and hoped to return after the war to help with animal rescue. He loved animals, his mother said.

On his second trip to Ukraine, Magallon was helping to train young soldiers. He also took them into combat near Bakhmut, scene of one of the fiercest battles of the war before it was taken by Russian forces. Magallon's body was recovered nine months after his death.

His mother now plans to travel to Ukraine to help with volunteer work and to continue her son's legacy.

"A lot of his stories were very tragic and hard to hear but he wanted the world to know what's really going on. The sad thing is today we're not hearing those stories," she said. "My heart is for Ukraine."