The British Army will on Tuesday warn soldiers not to travel to Ukraine to take up arms as it risks triggering a major escalation in the conflict.
The cautionary order comes after Downing Street rebuked Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, who said she “absolutely” supported British nationals fighting against the Russian invasion.
In a daily message to every soldier, seen by The Telegraph, known as a Part 1 Order, Sir Chris Tickell, the second in command of the army, will say on Tuesday: “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 authorised 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.”
The Telegraph understands the Army fears that soldiers seen with British insignia in Ukraine could trigger a major escalation in the conflict.
Commanders were last night warned of “rumblings through back channels of some soldiers considering [going to Ukraine]”.
The internal memo said that not only would this be “very bad from a reputational and presentational point of view”, but “more worryingly, at its worst, it could lead to miscalculation, which we need to guard against.”
Britain has vowed not to send troops to Ukraine and any deployment, even if unofficial, risks provoking retaliation from Russia and widening the conflict.
It came as Downing Street knocked down the Foreign Secretary amid warnings that British nationals might be breaking the law if they travel to fight in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted on Monday that he “fully recognises the strength of feeling” among Britons who want to help, but reiterated the Government’s advice not to travel to Ukraine.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, also urged Britons not to join the fighting, saying that the “very dangerous” situation could lead to them being killed.
A Foreign Office source admitted that there could be legal consequences for Britons who travel to Ukraine to fight against the Russians.
“It is legally murky”, the source said, adding those who go out to Ukraine to fight “do so at their own risk, legally or otherwise”.
The Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 makes it illegal for a British citizen to fight in a war involving a nation state which is at peace with the UK. But experts say that in practice this piece of legislation is not always applied and is unlikely to be in the case of Ukraine.
Ed Arnold, research fellow for European security at the Royal United Services Institute, said the nineteenth century law was “not particularly enforced” when thousands of Britons went to join the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, nor is it currently enforced against dual nationals who are conscripted to fight in foreign armies such as the Israeli Defence Forces.
**Foreign legionnaires: Veterans buy kit at Army surplus stores en route to Ukraine**
They are heading to Ukraine with years of experience under their belts. But first they need to buy a belt. And fatigues. And a flak jacket.
Hundreds of Britons with military experience are believed to be readying to enter Ukraine as part of the country’s new army of foreign legionnaires to bolster the fight against Russian troops that invaded last week. Among them are at least 20 veterans of special forces operations.
Few of them still have their own kit, however, prompting last-minute shopping trips to army surplus stores.
At Folkestone’s G4 Echelon Military Supplies, owner Damon Warren – a 52-year-old ex-soldier – is giving a 50 per cent discount to both Ukrainians and any British veterans seeking to help them. Ever since the invasion began, Mr Warren said his phone had been ringing incessantly.
Among the callers is Andrew Lester, a 25-year-old electrician from Kent who served in the Parachute Regiment till last July, reaching the rank of lance corporal. Mr Lester has his own boots, but he needs a helmet, body armour, and gear for cold and wet conditions.
“The Ukrainians are really doing quite well, I think,” he said. “They’re holding out. If they need a few more blokes to push them” – the Russians – “back, then that’s what we’re here for.”
Mr Lester said he knew of more than 100 former soldiers who were also planning to join the fight against Vladimir Putin’s “outrageous” invasion: “If it was the UK, I’d like help from other countries. So why not, eh?”
Ukrainian civilians might not have experience of handling military equipment, Mr Lester added, meaning that the expertise of British veterans could be of assistance.
Owner Mr Warren said he had been turning away Britons who were not veterans because those with neither military experience nor the ability to speak Ukrainian would be “more of a liability than a help.”
Some of Mr Lester’s colleagues in the group of ex-Paras hoping to fight for Ukraine are veterans of special forces missions. They include Dave Radband, 36, who was part of special forces missions in Afghanistan and Iraq and now is the director of a railway engineering company.
“When you’ve got 10 tours under your belt, you’ve got a unique skillset,” Mr Radband said. “You can’t just sit around. It comes down to morals. You can’t just sit around and let this happen. They need our help, so we’ll go out and help them.”
Hundreds of veterans were making similar plans, Mr Radband added. Of the 30-strong group of which he and Mr Lester are a part, Mr Radband estimated that 20 had been in the Special Forces Support Group.
They had felt a call to action, Mr Radband said. “We don’t fight for ourselves. We’re protectors.”
The Folkestone store has also received hundreds of orders of kit from Ukrainians making purchases either for themselves or for their countrymen.
Mr Warren spent Monday at his depot handing over thousands of pieces of kit, the vast majority of which is going to Ukrainians. Four were loading boxes with uniforms when The Telegraph visited, stripping off badges bearing the Union flag under instruction from Mr Warren.
Mr Warren said he was making no profit from the kit he was selling. “I’ve been to war zones and I’ve seen what it does. So my heart is with the Ukrainians, and my heart is telling me to help them as best I can.”
Two of the shop’s Ukrainian customers were a pair of brothers: Andriy Batuk, 39, and Roman Svisun, 46. The brothers, each of whom has lived in the UK for several years, were buying kit that they and a friend were about to drive to the Ukrainian border, before returning to do the same thing again.
They might end up having to fight, said Mr Batuk. For the time being, they had to hurry off to the continent, laden with gear. “We have to do it, otherwise he” – Vladimir Putin – “will destroy us. We will disappear as a nation.”
Swear to fuck if this escalates into a world war because some football lad who was given a gun couldn’t keep his fucking chill…
Some guy on r/askuk was asking for advice about going to Ukraine to fight and I got slated when I pointed out that it is a legal grey area that it technically could mean they are breaching a terror law.
Its admirable they want to help but I think some of them, especially the ones with basicsally zero military/outdoor/survival experience have this delusion that they are some sort of main character in a film and they don’t realise they don’t have plot armour.
If it continues for a few more weeks, it will make the “What did you do on your holiday?” stories more interesting.
I watched a video of Someone helping wounded Ukrainians, the accents were English and Scottish. These people were obviously very well trained in what they were doing….
Someone needs to set up a mercenary company that all the soldiers can work for.
The fact that our foreign secretary says one thing and the army/defence minister said the opposite is representative of the shit state of this government.
Yesterday I saw brits on a news show (bbc?) going to the Ukrainian ambassador office for a piece of paper with instructions on how to join up. I think they said foreign legion, but I’m not sure if that is correct. Some were young and some were older with medical training.
A battalion of Gareth Keenan’s are heading to Ukraine.
God this community sucks sometimes.
Good on anyone who chooses to leave to help Ukraine. Providing they have considered it carefully and won’t be a hindrance.
There’s already a few off duty green berets over there working with off duty seals and other volunteer special forces members from across Europe.
A lot of people here missing the distinction between someone that represents a national army not involved in the war going to fight and a citizen with no affiliation going to fight.
Pound Shop Thatcher sticking her foot in it and causing an issue again?
I mean… obviously ?
Those going over are mostly ex-forces, I doubt any country would want it’s active personnel to just fuck of and go fight in Ukraine.
Whoever wants to go to help the oppressed should be allowed. Just being there helping the displaced to come to the UK would be an immense help, no need to go to the front lines.
To be clear, if you are currently employed by the MoD (such as those serving in the armed forces) you are classed as a representative of the department, and of the state. In law, your actions can be construed as representing the state, even if it’s something you weren’t ordered to do. It’s really important to make that distinction because in that regard, MoD personnel have very different status to civilians.
The Ukrainian government even clarified that you should not be travelling to fight if you are currently enlisted in another country’s military or have no military experience. It’s admirable to want to go but if you have no combat experience then you are not just endangering yourself but the lives of those you are fighting with.
If anyone wants to join the International Legion to defend Ukraine against Putin’s crimes against humanity, that’s legal. Nobody is joining an offensive op. They are fighting for a organisation recognised by most of Europe. If you really want to stop rouge soldiers stop Wagner Oligarch PMC
I would advise anyone that feels the urge to trace to Ukraine to go as an ambulance driver or similar. If you happen to shoot someone with your ambulance it is purely circumstances and most likely self preservation.
As an aside, can we please all agree to stop linking telegraph as ‘source’ sites?
The only info this site gives is exactly what’s in the title, plus a single image with caption stating the same thing.
That is, of course, unless you pay a monthly subscription for them to give you news that plenty of other places give for free.
But Liz Truss invited everyone to go out and fight!
If the world does not send in their respective militaries to support Ukraine, Putin will annex it and carry on doing the same for most of Eastern Europe. Red Curtain all over again.
I don’t condone war, but it is apparent that he feels that he can operate with reckless abandon and impunity, and it is quite clear that the world governments will allow this to happen as they aren’t going to take the action that’s needed.
Basic behaviour is essentially doing what works- Putin is doing what works and getting away with it, he needs to be stopped. Soft measures aren’t going to cut it.
21 comments
The British Army will on Tuesday warn soldiers not to travel to Ukraine to take up arms as it risks triggering a major escalation in the conflict.
The cautionary order comes after Downing Street rebuked Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, who said she “absolutely” supported British nationals fighting against the Russian invasion.
In a daily message to every soldier, seen by The Telegraph, known as a Part 1 Order, Sir Chris Tickell, the second in command of the army, will say on Tuesday: “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 authorised 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.”
The Telegraph understands the Army fears that soldiers seen with British insignia in Ukraine could trigger a major escalation in the conflict.
Commanders were last night warned of “rumblings through back channels of some soldiers considering [going to Ukraine]”.
The internal memo said that not only would this be “very bad from a reputational and presentational point of view”, but “more worryingly, at its worst, it could lead to miscalculation, which we need to guard against.”
Britain has vowed not to send troops to Ukraine and any deployment, even if unofficial, risks provoking retaliation from Russia and widening the conflict.
It came as Downing Street knocked down the Foreign Secretary amid warnings that British nationals might be breaking the law if they travel to fight in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted on Monday that he “fully recognises the strength of feeling” among Britons who want to help, but reiterated the Government’s advice not to travel to Ukraine.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, also urged Britons not to join the fighting, saying that the “very dangerous” situation could lead to them being killed.
A Foreign Office source admitted that there could be legal consequences for Britons who travel to Ukraine to fight against the Russians.
“It is legally murky”, the source said, adding those who go out to Ukraine to fight “do so at their own risk, legally or otherwise”.
The Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 makes it illegal for a British citizen to fight in a war involving a nation state which is at peace with the UK. But experts say that in practice this piece of legislation is not always applied and is unlikely to be in the case of Ukraine.
Ed Arnold, research fellow for European security at the Royal United Services Institute, said the nineteenth century law was “not particularly enforced” when thousands of Britons went to join the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, nor is it currently enforced against dual nationals who are conscripted to fight in foreign armies such as the Israeli Defence Forces.
**Foreign legionnaires: Veterans buy kit at Army surplus stores en route to Ukraine**
They are heading to Ukraine with years of experience under their belts. But first they need to buy a belt. And fatigues. And a flak jacket.
Hundreds of Britons with military experience are believed to be readying to enter Ukraine as part of the country’s new army of foreign legionnaires to bolster the fight against Russian troops that invaded last week. Among them are at least 20 veterans of special forces operations.
Few of them still have their own kit, however, prompting last-minute shopping trips to army surplus stores.
At Folkestone’s G4 Echelon Military Supplies, owner Damon Warren – a 52-year-old ex-soldier – is giving a 50 per cent discount to both Ukrainians and any British veterans seeking to help them. Ever since the invasion began, Mr Warren said his phone had been ringing incessantly.
Among the callers is Andrew Lester, a 25-year-old electrician from Kent who served in the Parachute Regiment till last July, reaching the rank of lance corporal. Mr Lester has his own boots, but he needs a helmet, body armour, and gear for cold and wet conditions.
“The Ukrainians are really doing quite well, I think,” he said. “They’re holding out. If they need a few more blokes to push them” – the Russians – “back, then that’s what we’re here for.”
Mr Lester said he knew of more than 100 former soldiers who were also planning to join the fight against Vladimir Putin’s “outrageous” invasion: “If it was the UK, I’d like help from other countries. So why not, eh?”
Ukrainian civilians might not have experience of handling military equipment, Mr Lester added, meaning that the expertise of British veterans could be of assistance.
Owner Mr Warren said he had been turning away Britons who were not veterans because those with neither military experience nor the ability to speak Ukrainian would be “more of a liability than a help.”
Some of Mr Lester’s colleagues in the group of ex-Paras hoping to fight for Ukraine are veterans of special forces missions. They include Dave Radband, 36, who was part of special forces missions in Afghanistan and Iraq and now is the director of a railway engineering company.
“When you’ve got 10 tours under your belt, you’ve got a unique skillset,” Mr Radband said. “You can’t just sit around. It comes down to morals. You can’t just sit around and let this happen. They need our help, so we’ll go out and help them.”
Hundreds of veterans were making similar plans, Mr Radband added. Of the 30-strong group of which he and Mr Lester are a part, Mr Radband estimated that 20 had been in the Special Forces Support Group.
They had felt a call to action, Mr Radband said. “We don’t fight for ourselves. We’re protectors.”
The Folkestone store has also received hundreds of orders of kit from Ukrainians making purchases either for themselves or for their countrymen.
Mr Warren spent Monday at his depot handing over thousands of pieces of kit, the vast majority of which is going to Ukrainians. Four were loading boxes with uniforms when The Telegraph visited, stripping off badges bearing the Union flag under instruction from Mr Warren.
Mr Warren said he was making no profit from the kit he was selling. “I’ve been to war zones and I’ve seen what it does. So my heart is with the Ukrainians, and my heart is telling me to help them as best I can.”
Two of the shop’s Ukrainian customers were a pair of brothers: Andriy Batuk, 39, and Roman Svisun, 46. The brothers, each of whom has lived in the UK for several years, were buying kit that they and a friend were about to drive to the Ukrainian border, before returning to do the same thing again.
They might end up having to fight, said Mr Batuk. For the time being, they had to hurry off to the continent, laden with gear. “We have to do it, otherwise he” – Vladimir Putin – “will destroy us. We will disappear as a nation.”
Swear to fuck if this escalates into a world war because some football lad who was given a gun couldn’t keep his fucking chill…
Some guy on r/askuk was asking for advice about going to Ukraine to fight and I got slated when I pointed out that it is a legal grey area that it technically could mean they are breaching a terror law.
Its admirable they want to help but I think some of them, especially the ones with basicsally zero military/outdoor/survival experience have this delusion that they are some sort of main character in a film and they don’t realise they don’t have plot armour.
If it continues for a few more weeks, it will make the “What did you do on your holiday?” stories more interesting.
I watched a video of Someone helping wounded Ukrainians, the accents were English and Scottish. These people were obviously very well trained in what they were doing….
Someone needs to set up a mercenary company that all the soldiers can work for.
The fact that our foreign secretary says one thing and the army/defence minister said the opposite is representative of the shit state of this government.
Yesterday I saw brits on a news show (bbc?) going to the Ukrainian ambassador office for a piece of paper with instructions on how to join up. I think they said foreign legion, but I’m not sure if that is correct. Some were young and some were older with medical training.
A battalion of Gareth Keenan’s are heading to Ukraine.
God this community sucks sometimes.
Good on anyone who chooses to leave to help Ukraine. Providing they have considered it carefully and won’t be a hindrance.
There’s already a few off duty green berets over there working with off duty seals and other volunteer special forces members from across Europe.
A lot of people here missing the distinction between someone that represents a national army not involved in the war going to fight and a citizen with no affiliation going to fight.
Pound Shop Thatcher sticking her foot in it and causing an issue again?
I mean… obviously ?
Those going over are mostly ex-forces, I doubt any country would want it’s active personnel to just fuck of and go fight in Ukraine.
Whoever wants to go to help the oppressed should be allowed. Just being there helping the displaced to come to the UK would be an immense help, no need to go to the front lines.
To be clear, if you are currently employed by the MoD (such as those serving in the armed forces) you are classed as a representative of the department, and of the state. In law, your actions can be construed as representing the state, even if it’s something you weren’t ordered to do. It’s really important to make that distinction because in that regard, MoD personnel have very different status to civilians.
The Ukrainian government even clarified that you should not be travelling to fight if you are currently enlisted in another country’s military or have no military experience. It’s admirable to want to go but if you have no combat experience then you are not just endangering yourself but the lives of those you are fighting with.
If anyone wants to join the International Legion to defend Ukraine against Putin’s crimes against humanity, that’s legal. Nobody is joining an offensive op. They are fighting for a organisation recognised by most of Europe. If you really want to stop rouge soldiers stop Wagner Oligarch PMC
I would advise anyone that feels the urge to trace to Ukraine to go as an ambulance driver or similar. If you happen to shoot someone with your ambulance it is purely circumstances and most likely self preservation.
As an aside, can we please all agree to stop linking telegraph as ‘source’ sites?
The only info this site gives is exactly what’s in the title, plus a single image with caption stating the same thing.
That is, of course, unless you pay a monthly subscription for them to give you news that plenty of other places give for free.
But Liz Truss invited everyone to go out and fight!
If the world does not send in their respective militaries to support Ukraine, Putin will annex it and carry on doing the same for most of Eastern Europe. Red Curtain all over again.
I don’t condone war, but it is apparent that he feels that he can operate with reckless abandon and impunity, and it is quite clear that the world governments will allow this to happen as they aren’t going to take the action that’s needed.
Basic behaviour is essentially doing what works- Putin is doing what works and getting away with it, he needs to be stopped. Soft measures aren’t going to cut it.