Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives often must endure a long and tiresome campaign after committing hefty financial resources. One candidate in Minnesota has decided instead to drop his bid for a seat in Congress to fight in Ukraine against Russia.

Democrat Mark Lindquist, a U.S. Air Force veteran and candidate for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, announced he would be suspending his campaign against incumbent Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., to assist Ukraine in its war efforts.

“Due to world events, I am suspending my campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives until further notice," Lindquist wrote in an Instagram post on March 20. "In order to fully concentrate on the mission at hand in Poland and Ukraine, this is the best thing for me right now. I simply feel like this is where I'm needed most."

In an interview with the Washington Post, Lindquist said it was after hearing a speech by Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky in the aftermath of Russia's invasion on Feb. 24 that he was inspired to go fight for the country. Pointing to his experience in the Air Force, Lindquist said he could bring his skills to the battlefield on behalf of Ukraine.

“I’m not married. I have no kids. I’m an able-bodied, 40-year-old military member with no strings attached. How can I not go? Because I know I can help either on the humanitarian side or bringing the training of the American military to this fight," Lindquist told the Post.

Between 2006 and 2012, Lindquist served with the USAF in Afghanistan as an intelligence analyst and was based out of Hawaii, according to his campaign website. Since leaving the U.S. military, Lindquist has worked as an entrepreneur and author in Minnesota. He has also sung the national anthem at sports events.

Linquist is also following in the footsteps of a number of U.S. military veterans and volunteers who have made the decision to travel to Ukraine. Zelensky has encouraged volunteers to join Ukraine’s International Legion to battle Russia, but the U.S. government has discouraged U.S. citizens from taking part in the conflict as fighters.

"I would say what I said last week. If you're an American, and you want to do right by Ukraine, the best thing you can do is find a way to donate to so many agencies that are trying to deal with what is now clearly a humanitarian crisis in the region, certainly there in Ukraine," said John Kirby, the Pentagon's Press Secretary, on March 7.

Kirby's comments did little to dissuade Lindquist. He insists that the stakes for the world at large are bigger than a single American political race.

“It’s not that I don’t think that politics here are important,” he told the Post. “It’s that worrying about it right now feels like raking the leaves before a tornado strikes. I know the U.S. will still be here after 2022, but can we say the same about Ukraine?”

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