Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, a former city councillor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, went missing on 7 January, two days before he was to appear in court in Rhode Island on possession of child sexual abuse images and obstruction of justice charges.
This week, Puello-Mota resurfaced at an enlistment centre in the Russian region of Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, with footage appearing to show him signing a military contract, seated in a room adorned with photographs of Vladimir Putin and the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.
"An American signed a military contract at the patriots centre in Khanty-Mansiysk," reads a message alongside the video published by the region's official channel on Telegram.
Prior to signing the contract with the Russian military, Puello-Mota reportedly fought as a volunteer alongside Russian troops during their capture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka in February.
That month, Russian pro-war channels circulated footage of a blurred figure in combat fatigues planting the US flag in the ruins of a Ukrainian city in support of Russia.
"I'm here to plant the US flag as a sign of friendship and support for all the things people are enduring here," the person in the video said, his face blurred. "I feel proud to be here." The Massachusetts-based newspaper the Republican reported that people who know Puello-Mota claimed to have recognised his voice in the clip.
Appearing to confirm his participation in the battle for Avdiivka, in the clip Puello-Mota describes previously fighting in Ukraine as part of the pro-Russian Pyatnashka international paramilitary group. "I definitely would do it again," he is heard saying.
Puello-Mota was first arrested in 2020 after police in Rhode Island discovered sexually explicit images...
This week, Puello-Mota resurfaced at an enlistment centre in the Russian region of Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, with footage appearing to show him signing a military contract, seated in a room adorned with photographs of Vladimir Putin and the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.
"An American signed a military contract at the patriots centre in Khanty-Mansiysk," reads a message alongside the video published by the region's official channel on Telegram.
Prior to signing the contract with the Russian military, Puello-Mota reportedly fought as a volunteer alongside Russian troops during their capture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka in February.
That month, Russian pro-war channels circulated footage of a blurred figure in combat fatigues planting the US flag in the ruins of a Ukrainian city in support of Russia.
"I'm here to plant the US flag as a sign of friendship and support for all the things people are enduring here," the person in the video said, his face blurred. "I feel proud to be here." The Massachusetts-based newspaper the Republican reported that people who know Puello-Mota claimed to have recognised his voice in the clip.
Appearing to confirm his participation in the battle for Avdiivka, in the clip Puello-Mota describes previously fighting in Ukraine as part of the pro-Russian Pyatnashka international paramilitary group. "I definitely would do it again," he is heard saying.
Puello-Mota was first arrested in 2020 after police in Rhode Island discovered sexually explicit images...
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The Guardian (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 06, 2024