Unhappy with free talk on lesbianism, American family moved to Russia. The dad is now fighting Ukraine on front line

Derek Huffman, an American who relocated to Russia to prevent his daughters from being exposed to fluid gender norms and "woke" culture in the US, is now being sent to the front line to fight Ukraine. His wife, DeAnna Huffman, said in a vlog on YouTube that he hardly received any training, which was all in Russian. The Telegraph reported that the Huffmans live in the small town of Istra near Moscow. The couple has three daughters and came to Russia as part of the “shared values” visa scheme, which calls for foreigners who reject “destructive neoliberal ideology” to live in the country. Initially, Derek agreed to join the military in a non-combat role. He thought of starting as a welder and moving on to become a war correspondent. But, now he has been sent near the frontlines despite having no experience as a soldier and limited understanding of the Russian language. Derek feels he was being "thrown to the wolves" because all the training was in Russian. The family is now leaning on faith for him to return safely.

Woke gender norms, talk about gay and lesbians at school, prompted family to leave US

The family was prompted to leave the US because of the liberal attitude around gender norms. Their shift became big news in Russia, where they got a lot of media coverage. Derek Huffman told Russia Today that after they moved to Texas from Arizona, one of their daughters, Sophia, was told to talk about lesbian topics at school. The family was uncomfortable with it. Then, Sophia learnt about lesbians from a girl in her class. Even though she did not understand much about it, the family was convinced that they had to change something. The inspiration came during a trip to Moscow in 2023, where they saw traditional family values. “The city was cleaner, safer, and more orderly than we ever imagined. Most importantly, we found a place that respected our values – where we finally felt at home,” Huffman said. Derek said that he wanted to earn his place in Russian society and did not wish for handouts. He even pointed to the migrants in America who "come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts." Also Read: Russian airports shut down 10 times in 24 hours amid record Ukraine drone strikes

Derek was asked to sign up for the military

However, a few months in, Derek was told he would be sent to the frontline. DeAnna Huffman says they were misled. “When he signed up and had all of that done, he was told he would not be training for two weeks and going straight to the front lines,” she said. In the vlog, she admitted that they have had some "amazing adventures" since moving to Russia, but there have been challenges. “Being alone in a new country, raising kids, and trying to stay strong has tested me in ways I never imagined,” she said. They settled in the “American village”, a settlement in Istra created by US expat and blogger Tim Kirby, who has been in the country for 20 years. He describes it as a refuge for Americans fleeing “liberal gender norms”.

A Telegram channel named "Save that little girls” was linked to their YouTube channel. However, the link has now been deleted. It calls on the US government to "save the family". The post is accompanied with a photo of DeAnna Huffman and her daughters crying in the street. However, it is not clear whether the Huffman family created the group or someone else did.