Kyiv —
Volodymyr Dudnyk was picked up by Ukrainian military draft officers almost immediately after crossing the border into Ukraine following his deportation from the United States. He was sent straight to a training center.
“When I was on the plane to Ukraine, I knew what was coming. But I hoped that perhaps they’d at least let me go home first. Everything happened even faster than I’d thought. I never made it home; I haven’t seen my parents yet,” the 28-year-old told CNN.
Dudnyk spent 51 days in boot camp, then a few weeks training as a drone operator. He is now fighting on the frontline in eastern Ukraine, where his fellow soldiers gave him a new military callsign:…