(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A Kyiv resident who knew convicted would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh from their time in Ukraine has vouched for Routh’s character—supporting his request for a lenient sentence.
In a letter filed Tuesday to Judge Aileen Cannon, Mariia Riznyk said Routh saved her life in early 2022.
Riznyk explained that Routh—who traveled to Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion in early 2022—found a second vehicle for her team for a mission in which she and other volunteers delivered more than 100 drones to Ukrainian fighters on the front lines.
Instead of pilling into the first vehicle, Riznyk rode in the second one.
“Later that same day, the vehicle I was originally supposed to be in was targeted (volunteers, too, are hunted in this war). Three volunteers ended up in the hospital with severe injuries; the driver underwent eight complex surgeries and is still undergoing rehabilitation,” she said.
“Thanks to Ryan’s foresight, I remained unharmed and was able to complete the mission,” she said.
“I owe Ryan my life,” the letter said.
A Ukrainian has written a letter to Judge Cannon in support of convicted would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh's plea for leniency.
"I owe Ryan my life," says Mariia Riznyk https://t.co/2SeqbzLCeA pic.twitter.com/tT34pkXO7o
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) January 20, 2026
The letter comes ahead of Routh’s sentencing, which is set for Feb. 4. The Justice Department seeks life in prison for the convicted attempted assassin, while Routh’s lawyers want 20 years.
“A term of 20 years, followed by the required 7-year mandatory sentence required by Count two would be sufficient to meet the need for punishment, provide the defendant with correctional treatment and provide for mental health treatment in a custodial setting,” Routh’s lawyer said in a filing earlier this month. “Defendant would be in custody into his eighties and would not pose any threat to cause harm to the public.”
On Sept. 15, 2024, a Secret Service agent spotted Routh hiding in the bushes with an SKS-style rifle at Trump’s Palm Beach golf course. The agent shot at Routh five times—missing but causing him to flee the scene. Routh was caught some 45 minutes later on the I-95. During the traffic stop, a woman named Norka Pardo was driving with her 6-year-old girl, Mia Rosalie Monreal, and she crashed into the backed-up traffic.
Monreal suffered debilitating brain injuries as a result. Months later, doctors were still trying to restart her brain, according to the mother.
“She was not responding, she’s not waking up at all, so they have to kind of help her out and give her medication to help her brain restart,” the mother told local media last January. “She’s kind of opening her eyes, closing to fall asleep, opening her eyes but there was no response.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
