The would-be assassin and the plot to tap up Afghan fighters to Ukraine's cause

Charged with Donald Trump's attempted assassination was apparently messaging British-trained Afghan commandos about recruitment to the Ukraine war just three days before he was arrested at a Florida golf course.

- HOLLY BANCROFT, MAY BULMAN

Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested on 15 September after allegedly aiming a powerful AK-47-style assault rifle through the bushes at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

The 58-year-old former roofing contractor from North Carolina had become fanatical about supporting Ukraine’s right to defend itself from Russia’s invasion. He was said to have contacted Ukraine’s International Legion with ideas that Ukrainian military personnel described as “delusional”.

In messages linked to Mr Routh’s WhatsApp account and seen by The Independent and investigative newsroom Lighthouse Reports, there are discussions with Afghan special forces about how to get to Ukraine to fight.

The extraordinary revelation highlights the desperation of these Afghan commandos who were paid for and trained by the British to fight the Taliban but were left abandoned after Kabul fell in 2021. Many have fled Afghanistan and are now trying to survive in Iran, as the UK drags its feet about offering safe haven – despite promising to do so nine months ago.

The Independent, in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports and Afghan newspaper Etilaat Roz, has been investigating attempts to recruit these former soldiers as fighters in foreign wars with the lure of high wages.

One former special forces soldier, Hafizullah, who is living in Iran, ended up communicating with Mr Routh’s WhatsApp about potentially going to help Ukraine. Hafizullah served for eight years in a specialist unit known as Commando Force 333, which was set up and run by the British.

He fled from Afghanistan to Iran with his wife and baby son in early 2022. In a sign of the breadth of recruiters trying to entice former Afghan soldiers into combat, Hafizullah says he has received offers to fight in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria since being in Iran.