A Maryland attorney claims to be volunteering to help the Ukrainian government source and procure weapons, according to a new pair of Justice Department filings.
Attorney Luke Kaczmarek characterized his arangement with the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an "oral agreement or understanding," not a formal contract. He writes in one disclosure:
"I volunteered to assist the Ukrainian-American Bar Association (UABA) with the coordination of humanitarian aid to Ukraine on February 24, 2022. On March 3, 2022, I was approached by one of the volunteers inquiring as to whether I could assist Adrian Kellgren, Director of Industrial Production at Kel-Tech CNC Industries, with an expedited export license for a batch of small arms that could no longer be delivered to its intended recipient in Odessa. I was introduced to Volodymyr Muzylov, First Secretary at the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States, in the course of assisting Mr. Kellgren. I successfully managed to resolve the export license issue for Mr. Kellgren as of March 8, 2022. On March 9, 2022, I verbally offered to assist Mr. Muzylov with the sourcing and acquisition of material for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (UAMOD), and he verbally accepted. I have since acted on the basis of our shared agreement to source existing inventory of equipment needed by UAMOD. I expect to work in this capacity for the duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and I have not, am not, and shall not receive any monetary compensation for my assistance."
Kaczmarek is a relatively low-profile attorney based in Bel Air, Md. In 2016, the Baltimore Sun described him as a Trump supporter who was "inspired by Trump's promise to clean up corruption in Washington." He was president of the Maryland Young Republicans' Harford County chapter until last year, when the chapter was dissolved following an anti-Semitic email sent to its listserv. According to the Baltimore Sun, Kaczmarek claimed no involvement with the incident.
