An American, set with family in Russia to escape “America Woke”, arrived on the Ukraine front

A Texas man who moved with his family to Russia to get rid of what he called “Woke ideology” in the United States would have been sent on the front line to Ukraine, according to family reports.

Derek Huffman moved to Russia in 2023/Photo: X

Derek Huffman, 46, settled earlier this year in the city of Istra, near Moscow, together with his wife, Deanna, their three daughters and the family dog. He invoked as the main motivation the desire to live in a country that, in his opinion, “respects the family values”.

The Huffman family joined a program supported by the Kremlin intended to attract Western citizens who reject liberal values. But what seemed to be a new beginning turned into an extremely delicate situation, reports the Daily Mail.

Initially, Mr. Huffman was offered a non-combatant role in the Russian army-first as a welding, then as a war reporter. However, according to his wife's statements, he was sent unexpectedly near the front line, despite a minimum military training and exclusively in Russian.

“It feels as if it were thrown in the middle of the wolves.”Deanna Huffman told the Russian press. “It is based on faith to survive, and we live with fear in the soul, waiting for news.”

The last message received by the family from Derek Huffman dates from the father's day in June. In a video clip, he appeared in a camouflage uniform and transmitted to his children an emotional message: “I miss you more than you can imagine. I can hardly see you again. I hope to receive a permission and spend a few weeks with you. My thought is always with you. What I do is important to me.”

“The American village”

Since then, the family has not received other direct information. Although he insists that he is “doing well”, a link eliminated in the meantime from their YouTube channel was leading to a Telegram group entitled That Little Girls, in which an exciting photo with Deanna and their girls crying in the street, along with the message: “We ask the US government to save this family.” It is not clear who created the group.

Moving to Russia came against the background of increasing frustrations than the US Cultural and Educational Directorate. After the family moved from Arizona to Texas, Mr. Huffman said that the decisive moment was when his daughter, Sophia, was asked to discuss the same-sex relationships at school-a situation that she described as the “last drop”.

In 2023, an exploratory stay in Moscow strengthened the family's belief that Russia would be a safer and more “cleaner”. Upon arrival, they were received with opening by the pro-Kremlin media and settled in a limited community of American expatriates, known as the “American village”, founded by the pro-governmental blogger Tim Kirby. So far, only two American families have settled there, including the Huffman family.

Derek Huffman said the decision to volunteer to the army was a gesture of loyalty to his new homeland. “If I risk my life for this country, no one will be able to say that I am not part of it,” he said. “Unlike migrants in America, who do not integrate and want everything for free.”

However, according to his wife, the conditions have changed compared to those initially agreed. “We have been told that a two -week training period will follow, not that it will be sent directly to the front,” said Deanna Huffman. “Now, it seems to have an extra training week, but closer to the front line.”

Tensions increase against the background of a conflict that cost Russia significant human losses. According to the British Ministry of Defense, over one million Russian soldiers have been killed or injured from the beginning of the large -scale invasion in Ukraine, in February 2022. Estimates of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the US indicates up to 250,000 deaths and almost 950,000 wounded among Russian troops.

In just three years, Russia's human losses in Ukraine would exceed those registered by the Soviet and Russia in all military conflicts between the end of World War and 2022.

Meanwhile, the Huffman family remains in a state of deep uncertainty, facing the realities of a brutal conflict they hoped to bypass. “Being alone in a new country, raising children and trying to stay strong … It's harder than I ever imagined,” Deanna confessed.