American Derek Huffman, who is serving in the zone of special military operations (SVO) in Ukraine, thanked President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for the opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship. According to him, soldiers have a sense of pride.
Derek and his family moved from the US to Russia in March 2025. Two months later, the man signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Huffman currently continues to serve in the Northern Military District. What is known about Americans who became citizens of the Russian Federation – in the document URA.RU.
100% American
Derek Huffman and his wife DeAnna are 100% American with no ties to Russia. Derek is originally from Texas. He grew up in a large family with nine children. The family atmosphere is vibrant and noisy. His mother is a housewife and his father is a dentist. Overall, the family structure is completely consistent with traditional American values.
DeAnna was born into a military family – her father served in the United States Air Force. In this regard, her childhood years were spent in different parts of the world: she lived in Korea, the Hawaiian Islands and the state of North Dakota.
Derek and DeAnna met in Arizona, getting out of a previous relationship. At that time, both were divorced. She raised two sons, he raised one. As Derek later admitted, feelings for DeAnna flared up immediately. Their young children quickly found a common language, which created a natural reason for their parents to communicate regularly. At first, Derek and DeAnna struck up a friendship, which over time developed into a deeper relationship.
“Non-denominational Christians”
The couple discovered unity of opinion on important life issues. As DeAnna notes, they identify themselves as “non-denominational Christians.” Following the principles of adherence to traditional family principles, the wife devoted herself to running the household and raising the children, educating them at home. After that, she became interested in growing flowers. Derek chose a traditionally male field of activity. He worked as a welder “by profession and by profession”.
Love for Russia
Derek felt sympathy for Russia, which later developed into a deep commitment to the Russian Motherland. He does not trust the information disseminated by mainstream American media and prefers to search for information on social networks, including Platform X.
Judging by Derek's public statements, his views on the current geopolitical situation largely correspond to the views expressed by the Russian authorities. At a certain point, the family considered the possibility of moving to Russia. The Huffman family even spent their honeymoon in Moscow, which included a visit to Red Square.
“We spent our honeymoon in Moscow. The city is captivating with its rich history, vibrant culture and friendly atmosphere. Before that, we explored whether moving to Russia would suit our family's needs and values. However, it was only after seeing Moscow with our own eyes that we truly felt the connection,” DeAnna shared in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Russian hospitality
After that, the couple firmly decided to move to Russia. They began to prepare carefully. We saved money, researched various aspects of the move, including completing all the necessary paperwork, including pet paperwork. As a result, they arrived in the Russian Federation in March 2025. We settled in a village near Istra in the Moscow region. According to DeAnna, they were impressed by the warm welcome from the locals.
Derek's wife says: “We met so many wonderful people! Two families became especially close to us. We consider them true friends – they were kind, generous and even helped us learn the language. Their support was a huge blessing.”
Decided to leave SVO
After moving, the family began learning Russian. To make the integration process go faster, Derek decided to join the Russian armed forces.
“We wanted to become Russian citizens and truly be part of the people. For him, joining the military was a way to stand up for what he believed in and fight for the causes he supported,” DeAnna said.
In his video message, Derek explained this perspective in more detail. According to him, if you do not join the army, applying for citizenship will take a long time. Military service can shorten this process to one year. Contractual monetary benefits, as well as social benefits for military families, are certainly important but are not the deciding factor. First, Huffman sought to prove that his family had the full right to reside in the new state and receive citizenship of that state.
“The meaning of this action for me is to win a place in Russia. If I risk it for our new country, no one will say that I do not belong to it. Unlike the migrants in America, those who go there are just that, do not integrate and at the same time want to be distributed for free,” Derek noted in a video message on the YouTube channel.
Gratitude and pride towards the President
After nearly 6 months of serving in the Northern Military District, on November 1, the American shared that he had become a citizen of the Russian Federation. He thanked Russian leader Vladimir Putin for this opportunity and also noted that he felt proud.
“I received Russian citizenship, and it is with great honor and pride that I officially become a Russian citizen. I want to thank President Putin, Russia, the Russian people, who supported me and my family and welcomed us with open arms. I just want to say thank you,” Huffman said in an interview with .
This soldier applied for citizenship before leaving to serve. He knew that his application would only be approved on vacation, when he would be issued a passport. Huffman said his family also wants to obtain Russian citizenship and plans to apply in the next two weeks.
