00:00For American fighters like Zach, the idea that his president might withdraw help from Ukraine is tough to take in.
00:09Most of my family, you know, coming from a conservative state, they all support Trump.
00:14But for me, it's a different issue.
00:18Like, I think what he's doing in a lot of ways is really good, but at the same time,
00:23avoiding this war is something that you're pushing something down the road
00:28that's going to be even worse when you do have to deal with it.
00:33He came to Ukraine to fight, giving up his job at home in Texas where he worked as an airplane technician.
00:41He was looking for a fresh start and found a purpose, which now feels under threat.
00:48America was a big part of supporting him through this war.
00:52Now that we've lost the support, I feel, I even called my embassy.
00:58Hey, am I doing, you know, something okay? Is this okay to continue fighting?
01:04Or do I need to leave? What's going on here?
01:08And the people at the embassy themselves, they said, we honestly don't know.
01:14Zach is a commander now, in charge of an infantry unit.
01:20Today, he is checking in on his guys.
01:23They were attacked by Russian drones.
01:26One man was killed, three wounded.
01:30Canadian fighter Moose was most badly hurt.
01:34After the attack, he crawled three kilometers in the dark to reach his unit.
01:40How are you doing mentally, bubba?
01:42I'm okay.
01:43Me? Better?
01:44Yeah, I'd like to call home, but...
01:48Let's see what we can do.
01:50I went and saw Vivi and all the other guys.
01:53Everybody's doing pretty good.
01:55You're the only one we've got to worry about right now.
01:58Moose can't feel his toes.
02:00He's worried the doctors might not be able to save his leg.
02:09His war is likely over.
02:12Yeah.
02:15Concern is growing in Ukraine that Trump may force a peace deal
02:19ceding territory to Russia.
02:21Zach fears this could leave a generation of veterans
02:24feeling their sacrifice was in vain.
02:27People are tired of seeing their buddies die, get maimed.
02:33They want an end to the war, but to see all this sacrifice
02:37just washed away and for nothing.
02:42We've all seen the ends of that, and that was in Vietnam, in America.
02:47We saw what happens to veterans when their war was for nothing.
02:51They become heavy into alcohol.
02:56It'll dismantle the society itself.
03:00Time to head back to their base in the east of Kharkiv region.
03:04A quick debrief with another American from his unit.
03:08He too spent some time recovering from an injury.
03:11If my commander tells me, hey, I need you to go back out,
03:15my head is cleared, I'm ready to go.
03:18It's just a strong-minded mentality.
03:22Psychologically, I'm good.
03:27Many dread going back, but some say they're made for this.
03:32When you go to the front line, all your worries, concerns,
03:37all your problems, they all go away.
03:39The only thing you got to worry about is staying alive.
03:41I'm like, huh, it's about 300 meters.
03:45As debates over the war continue back home,
03:49these fighters remain on the front lines.
03:53Believing their fight is far from over.
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