Mathew Dubron studied history, served as an airborne infantryman in the U.S. Army, and later in the Israel Defense Forces — alongside both Ukrainians and Russians, years before the two were at war. He converted to Catholicism, and writes about the experience of soldiers on both sides.

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He wrote The Volunteers after traveling to both countries in 2024. He walked into a Moscow recruitment center, then a Kyiv one, and interviewed the men who serve.

He enlisted in neither army. He was after primary sources.