Source: Jim Spellman / Getty
Those watching MSNBC accustomed to getting insight from former military veteran Malcolm Nance got a surprise as he appeared for a segment on the network to reveal that he’s now joined the fight in Ukraine.
On the Monday (April 18th) episode of The ReidOut, the former MSNBC analyst joined host Joy Reid for a segment on the latest in the war between Ukraine and Russia decked out in full combat gear. Speaking to her from a secure location, he stated that he is now part of the international legion of fighters that are part of the Ukrainian Army. The former Navy intelligence officer posted a photo of himself in full combat gear with an assault rifle to his Twitter account with the caption, “I’m DONE talking.”
“The more I saw of the war going on, the more I thought, ‘I’m done talking, all right? It’s time to take action here,’” Nance said during his interview. “I am here to help this country fight… what essentially is a war of extermination. This is an existential war and Russia has brought it to these people and they are mass murdering civilians, and there are people here like me who are here to do something about it.” When asked by Reid if there was any real danger in him being there as a foreigner, he replied: “No, it doesn’t, because the war that’s being waged here is being waged against everybody. [The Russians] are not going around hunting for American flag patches or to see who’s Black, who’s Asian, who’s Latino.”
Nance elaborated on his position in the interview with The Daily Beast and confirmed he is no longer with the network. “I let my contract expire and came right over,” he said. “I was through with talking about it.” He continued by colorfully adding: “Also if anybody gives me any f—ing flak just tell them to shut the f–k up since they’re obviously p*ssies who have never been in combat. The Legion only takes combat vets. #BOFADEEZ”
The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine was formed as Russian forces first invaded the nation on February 27th. The exact number of combatants in the legion is unknown, but the nation’s ministry of defense claimed on March 6th that they had 20,000 who volunteered to take part in defending the nation from 52 different countries. Volunteers have the option to receive Ukrainian citizenship after their service.
