More than 150 British Army’s SAS and Sniper of the war in Afghanistan are said to be traveling to Ukraine to participate in the conflict there.
A British Army veteran is preparing to travel to Ukraine to help the country during the ongoing invasion by Russia.
Forces News reported that former soldiers will initially take medical supplies but said they are ready and willing to fight alongside Ukrainians.
The 34-year-old former soldier of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, a trained sniper with experiences of operational deployments, said he was not willing to watch the conflict from the comfort of his sofa.
British Army chiefs have banned current soldiers from traveling to Ukraine to fight, but Foreign Secretary Liz Truss previously said she had no objection to normal citizens participating.
It is believed that hundreds of current troops have expressed interest in participating in the fighting, but have been disallowed by their commanders. Ukraine recently issued a global call for volunteer fighters to join its side in the conflict.
Sleeping bags, rucksacks and bulletproof vests are the most requested items, “Wooza”, a former sergeant of The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment who preferred to remain anonymous, told Global Defense Corp.
Joe Stirling, a 28-year-old British Army veteran who served in Iraq with the Royal Regiment of Scotland, has taken a week’s leave from his job as a support worker for adults with learning difficulties to answer President Zelensky’s call to arms.
Wooza’s storage collection of military equipment is mainly from the British Ministry of Defense as well as donations from army veterans.
“We have to try to equip them as best we can,” Wooza, who served in the Gulf War, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, said.
The British government cannot prevent retired personnel from traveling to Ukraine, but fulltime and reserve troops have received a stern warning not to take part in the conflict.
A post on the army’s internal messaging service read: “There has been some recent media coverage relating to foreigners being welcomed into Ukraine to help fight against Russia.
“To be clear, as members of the British Army, you are not authorized to travel to Ukraine to support the ongoing conflict against Russia in any form, whether you are on leave or not. Please remain professional and focused on your duty and your team.”
Despite this, a military source said 150 former paratroopers are on their way to Poland. The Daily Mail reported that Shane, 34, a former sniper with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, said Sunday’s comments by Truss indicating her acceptance of British foreign fighters in the conflict were “the green light.”
At the Ukrainian Embassy in London on Monday, one 60-year-old English ex-soldier, who did not give his name, vowed to join the fight.
He told Sky News: “I used to be in the TA (Territorial Army) so I’ve got a lot of first aid training so I thought it would be a good idea to come and do something. I can get on a flight tomorrow. I’m 60 which means I’m just about within the age range they’ll accept.”
The UK’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has urged Britons not to travel to the conflict at all.
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