American Killed in Ukraine Fighting
Several media outlets are reporting that a U.S. citizen has died in the fighting in Ukraine. Stephen Zabielski, 52 y/o, was killed on May 15, 2022 according to the U.S. State Department.
Second US Citizen Killed in Ukraine Combat, State Dept. Says
A U.S. citizen was killed in combat in Ukraine last month after becoming one of thousands of foreign fighters to take up arms against Russian forces in the wake of Moscow’s invasion, the State Department said.
The death was first announced in an obituary published in The Recorder, an upstate New York newspaper, with the slain American identified as Stephen Zabielski, 52, of Hernando, Florida. He previously lived in Cranesville, New York, the newspaper reported.
According to the obituary, Zabielski was killed May 15 while fighting in the village of Dorozhniank, Ukraine. He is survived by his wife, five stepchildren, seven siblings and other family members.
The State Department confirmed his death in a statement to NBC News and repeated warnings advising U.S. citizens against traveling to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. It said that any U.S. citizens still in Ukraine should leave immediately.
Neither Zabielski’s obituary or the article makes mention that he was in the U.S. Army. Perhaps to not seem like his fighting over there was stationed in any way? Who knows?
We post this here because people will naturally ask – What was he doing over there and did he have any training and skills?
Hmmm…Supposedly he was killed by a land mine (possible Friendly Fire) and that his remains were returned to his family in Florida:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/stephen-zabielski-russia-ukraine-conflict-1371094/
From the article:
“Zabielski was the next volunteer to die after Cancel, on May 15th. His service in the Persian Gulf War with the 101st Airborne — a storied military campaign — could not be officially confirmed by press time. Though he was 52 years old, he was not an outlier among his fellow foreign fighters. “He was an old-timer,” Nettles
says, “but he never missed a beat.” He adds: “There are a lot of fifty-plus-year-old guys here.”
Additionally, he set off a trip wire and was killed by a land mine. An accident. No engagement with opponents.
“Tristan Nettles, a US Marine veteran who was with Zabielski the night he died, told the magazine that the 52-year-old and one of his comrades were on a mission to clear mines ahead of a planned “Ukrainian offensive when he accidentally touched a trip wire hidden in thick vegetation in foggy conditions.”
Left service on 2 JAN 91 and “the sh*t” didn’t did start until 17 JAN. Just sayin’.
You are 100% correct!!!
He didn’t get retained/recalled for Desert Storm? Why, what was wrong with him? What was he doing for 30 years that he thought Ukarine could use?
There are some people who want to fight Russia rather than let Russia roll over Ukraine.
It’s nothing new. There were people who fought in the Spanish Civil War who wanted to fight on the Socialist or Fascist side. Some Americans joined the French Foreign Legion or Canadian Army in World War One or Two to fight Germany before America was involved. There were bored military veterans (like Michael ‘Mad Mike’ Hoare) who worked as mercenaries in post-colonial Africa in the 60s and 70s. Non-Jews have volunteered to serve in the Israeli Army since its founding.
Conflicts attract people who feel drawn to fight in them for many reasons. The danger and risks of combat, the offer of steady pay in a bad economy, the volunteer’s personal or political beliefs, the chance to be part of something meaningful, or perhaps the bragging rights afterwards of being a combat veteran.
Yes, true. But the Army didn’t keep him on 2 JAN 91 or send him to Desert Storm during a stop-loss for that conflict– WTF?
Don’t recall much in the way of general stop-loss during DS/DS.
It was very “general” as I remember. Stopped all PCS, almost all ETS, and retirement. My 1SG held a formation, held up all the ETS and PCS paperwork in his hand. Ripped them in half. Then said “Just in case that pissed you off, here’s my retirement orders” Riiiiiip. 1SG Lusk, they don’t make ’em like you anymore!
Who cares what happened in 91, apparently he didn’t lack the balls to volunteer for combat now. I’ll give him credit for that. Maybe he wasn’t a model soldier when he was a kid, maybe he was a bit disappointed in his military experience, who knows or cares. I’ll give him his props for going to fight Russian aggression at 52 years old.
Definitely. I just hope he wasn’t a bad PAC clerk who didn’t do anything military in the interim, so he died making a difference instead of only getting himself killed.
https://youtu.be/E3zBl1R6TWA
Sure, happens. Blackwater et al have cut into that a lot in recent years though. Mercs also do something real high-speed combat-related before getting out and going into biz for themselves… if he was 92A or 91B, that might not be him.
Col Mike Hoare the legend of 5 Commando
His service time was 3 years, 5 months and 20 days. Why did the Army release him early?
Medical? Disciplinary?
Of course, he probably saw Full Metal Jacket before his early-out physical… inspired by how Jimi Hendrix got his so fast:
Jan 2 91 is just before the ground war in Desert Storm. Wasn’t stop/loss in effect?
Sure was. Did he suck THAT much?
I mean, jeez, there were guys who couldn’t walk/chew gum at the same time, Chapters for various things, overweight retirees/reservists, etc. who went… and he doesn’t and has an almost 6-month early out too.
This happened in 2014. He was a West Point Graduate:
https://www.rferl.org/a/mark-paslawsky/26541831.html
“Ya knowed the job was dangerous when ya took it, Pilgrim.” Apologies to The Duke.
Sympathies to the Family in their loss and sympathies to the innocents that are caught up in this foolishness.
Make some peace, you fools!
Odd that 2 countries, one known to be in collusion with a former SecState and another known to be in collusion with a former VP, have caused all the problems in the world that are said to be Trump’s fault.
Merrick Garland will be right on that investigation.
Yeah, ole Merrick is over there as I type this. I wonder if he’s looking for Hunter’s gas company buddies?
Sucks to be him. I am not apologizing for my lack of compassion, but what possible reason can he, or those other 2 supposedly captured have for going to war for another country. Mercenary perhaps? Was he invited and said, yeah, that sounds like fun.
Sometimes sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong has consequences.
I’d like to think he did it to make up for anything dumb he did to get out early in ’91 as a kid (note how there’s been 9/11, etc. since then and he hadn’t served again with us) but that’s the romantic in me, I guess.
That’s my theory as well.
This reminds me of a post I saw on Quora about a Texan (who happened to be a Marxist twit as well) named Bill Ash who traveled to the UK and joined the RAF to fight Germany during World War II. Predictably, his American citizenship was revoked for joining the RAF. One of the comments on the post said that him losing his citizenship was a loss for the US. I certainly did not feel that way. Mr. Ash made his own choices during his life and it seemed to me that he had no regrets.
Plus he likely knew there was a chance that he was going to lose his citizenship, so I am not shedding any tears for him. After all, you cannot serve two masters at once. This ties into my belief that if someone moves out of the country and renounces their citizenship, I believe that if they change their mind and want it back, they have to wait in line and earn it back just like everyone else who wants it. You obviously did not need it before, I certainly do not see why you need it now.