A Detroit man is leaving the United States to join the battle against Russia in Ukraine, saying he’s “compelled” to uphold the concept of democracy.
Dujon Johnson, who just two years ago was training Ukrainian professors and graduate students about how to bring transparency and democracy to the classroom, will fly Wednesday to Amsterdam and then into Poland before traveling to Ukraine, where he will immediately join the fight.
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“All of Ukraine is a warzone, so to speak,” Johnson told WDIV. “So, I’m going there to kind of help the Ukrainians defend their homeland.”
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var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_46672590", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"968363"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-6ec8-de4f-a1ff-7ede83c20000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedJohnson served with the U.S. Peace Corps in Ukraine from 2018 to 2020. He also has military experience as a U.S. Army veteran, having served in Germany in the 1970s, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“I’m going there, because the concepts of democracy, freedom, being treated right, that’s just part of our legacy,” Johnson said. “And I feel compelled to uphold it.”
“I get real-time information from Ukraine from my contacts there, and they’re really, really suffering,” Johnson said.
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Members of Church of the King in downtown Berkeley, Michigan, near Detroit, gathered to pray for Johnson. Some Ukrainians also came to thank him.
“We’re praying for protection and God’s provision,” pastor Tal Sullivan said. “We’re inviting God to come and use him as he wants.”
Johnson said his six children and ex-wife are not supportive of his decision.
The U.S. Department of State, along with the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, has issued a “Do Not Travel” warning.
That did not deter Johnson.
“If a democratically elected government can be wiped off the map, the question is: Who’s next?” Johnson said. “Is it Estonia? Is it Poland? Is it Lithuania? Is it Hungary? Where does it stop? With Hitler, people kept thinking he would stop as he was invading these countries.”
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As he reflected on his return to Ukraine, he said that he is not hungry for war but that he is ready to live out the concepts of democracy that he was teaching.
“Who would’ve figured I would be putting that to practice,” Johnson added. “I don’t plan on coming back with a red, white, and blue or blue and yellow flag over a box. I’m coming right back here to Detroit and hopefully make Detroit better like we all do.”
