A former Air National Guardsman has allegedly defected and joined the Russian army in its fight against Ukraine, according to the Rhode Island attorney general's office.
Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, a former security forces technical sergeant with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, allegedly fled the country in response to a pending criminal case against him for possession of child pornography. Social media posts claim he volunteered with the Russian military and fought against Ukrainians in a fierce battle for a key eastern city.
“We are aware Mr. Puello-Mota left the country in response to civil criminal charges filed against him,” Don Veitch, a spokesperson for the 104th Fighter Wing in Massachusetts, told Military.com in an email.
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The charges, which Veitch called “very serious,” led to Puello-Mota's separation from the Guard in October 2022. “Criminal activity is not compatible with our values as an organization and will not be tolerated in our ranks,” he said.
Before joining the National Guard, Puello-Mota served in the active-duty Air Force, also as a security forces airman, according to an Air Force press release about the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing's 2015 deployment to Afghanistan.
Puello-Mota was charged in 2020 with possession of child pornography after allegedly soliciting nude photos from a teenager, legal documents…
