NEW YORK, September 16. /TASS/. Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the second assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump, contacted the Ukrainian military several times, CNN reported, citing an officer at the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.

"He was offering us large numbers of recruits from different countries but it was obvious to us his offers were not realistic. We didn’t even answer, there was nothing to answer to," the officer told CNN.

He said Routh had reached out to them several times.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman, earlier said Routh could be obsessed with the conflict in Ukraine. The news website Semafor in a 2023 report described Routh as the head of the International Volunteer Center in Ukraine, which "provides assistance to foreigners that want to help in the war effort." In an interview with the website, Routh said he had meetings with representatives of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

On September 15, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a shooting outside the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, where the politician was staying. The incident, which occurred about two months after an assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, is being treated as potentially another assassination attempt. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said an AK-47 assault rifle with a telescopic sight, two backpacks with ceramic plates and an action camera were found near the golf club, where the suspect was trying to hide. The suspect was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, and was taken in custody.