Nonprofits of American veterans are giving back to Ukrainian soldiers who were seriously injured in combat and in Russian war camps.
The American Warrior Partnership (AWP), a Georgia-based 501C3, is trying to address the mental wellness challenges of veterans “long before the crisis occurred” according to its website.
Air Force veteran President Jim Lorraine shared it with the partnership of Fox News Digital AWP, which supports Ukrainian soldiers.
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“The American Warrior Partnership is a nonprofit that serves veterans,” Lorraine said. “Our focus is on getting to know veterans across the country, knowing what they need on one hand, connecting them to local and national resources on the other, improving quality of life, and enhancing the higher quality of life than suicide has been contemplating.”
AWP recently operated in the US and Ukraine, working with Metinvest, a group of steel companies and mining companies, the largest Ukrainian company, to help employees move back to the frontline and back into the workforce.
The American Warriors Partnership visited Ukrainian soldiers and former prisoners of war and helped them integrate them into the Metinvest workforce. (American Warrior Partnership)
According to estimates from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 380,000 soldiers in his country were injured in an ongoing war with Russia. Of these, around 57,000 have suffered severe amputations, putting Ukraine in a challenging position to reintegrate hundreds of thousands of injured service members into civilian lives.
Metinvest directly hired AWP for the initiative, ensuring that there are no US grant funds designated to American veterans to support Ukrainian veterans. This collaboration will work fully using Metinvest resources and strengthen our commitment to supporting veterans without circumventing aid targeting U.S. service members.
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ret. Lt. Col. Lt. Lt. Col. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. Lt. from his job at Metubvest, he learned some Ukrainian veterans. One of the veterans, known affectionately as “Wikipedia,” suffered an over-knee amputation in combat, and his prosthetic leg was finished by the company on Staten Island, New York.
ret. Lieutenant Colonel Jim Lorraine served as a combat nurse for 20 years before joining the American Warrior Partnership. (American Warrior Partnership)
“They all looked forward to their independence and began their lives and returned to their family without the risk of harassment,” Lorraine said. “And I can tell you, that's no different to anyone. The veteran I've ever met is to make our goal safe and our country safe.”
Regarding the ongoing war with Russia, Lorraine is urging Americans to see Ukrainian light-forms as something that could quickly affect us.
A Ukrainian monument commemorating the lives lost in the war with Russia shared by the American Warrior Partnership. (American Warrior Partnership)
“I don't want to see our army there… my son served, and, like I said, he is a recipient of a purple heart. I don't want him to serve,” Lorraine said. “And if a Ukrainian fighting an incredible battle with world power holds his own and pushes Russia back to the edge of the border, then if we can do it with military resources rather than resources, not resources, then humanitarian resources, and we think we can do that.
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The AWP emphasizes that veterans share similarities around the world, and that Ukrainian veterans returning to civilian life benefit from the same holistic approach as U.S. service members.
“Our motto in the American Warriors partnership is, “Together, we can do better,” Lorraine said. “And what I really believe is that what we're trying to do for Ukraine is to work with them and make sure they do better.”
