Rhee Ken, 37, a former Korean Navy SEAL lieutenant turned YouTuber, has reportedly been promoted to a senior position in the Ukrainian military.
On Monday, Anton Gerashchenko, an official adviser and former deputy minister in Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, posted on his Twitter that Rhee, a volunteer International Legion fighter, was placed in a “leadership position” given his “status.” special “. operations experience.
The new rank would give the former Navy SEAL “a lot of leeway in planning missions against [Russian] forces,” the official added.
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The post included a series of photos of Rhee in uniform with a thick mustache, unlike his usual Instagram images in which he is usually clean-shaven or sports finely trimmed facial hair.
According to a Korean newspaper JoongAng Daily reportRhee shared in an interview with Ukrainian weekly Novoye Vremya on Saturday that he was injured while fighting Russian forces in Irpin, Ukraine, and is currently in a military hospital.
He also said he planned to be arrested upon his return to Korea, referring to the February 13 law that prohibits any citizen from traveling to Ukraine.
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“It’s illegal under Korean law to be in Ukraine now,” he explained. “If I come back, I will be arrested at the airport because I took part in the war. I plan to receive many official documents from the Ukrainian government, and I hope this will facilitate my trial.
Rhee originally announced on March 6 that he had “unofficially” left South Korea for Ukraine with his hand-picked special forces team.
He claimed he was responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for help to the world despite Korean law, which bars citizens from entering the travel-banned country. Those who break the law face jail time and potential fines of 10 million won ($7,913).
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Image selected via Twitter
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