Dozens of former British Army and Special Forces soldiers and amateurs who have never seen action before have signed up to fight against Putin’s invading forces and say they’re willing to die for the cause.
Among those wanting to fight is Shaun Pinner, 48, an ex-soldier with a Ukrainian wife who has lined up to battle Russia, and Antony Zamparelli, a father-of-seven who has never seen action.
Others include Aiden Aslin, 28, an ex-carer who previously fought ISIS in Syria, as well as a team of 60 British former Army and Special Forces soldiers that have been gathered by Mamuka Mamulashvili, 43, commander of the Georgian National Legion.
Dozens are likely to join growing numbers of fighters from outside Ukraine in President Zelensky’s international legion of soldiers.
Shaun Pinner, 48, (pictured) is one of many UK nationals who have travelled to Ukraine to fight
Father-of-seven Antony Zamparelli said he was willing to die for Ukraine and urged other Brits to fight against the Russian invaders
Aiden Aslin, 28, (pictured) is a former carer who previously fought against Isis in Syria. Now he is fighting against a Russian invasion of Ukraine
Sixty British volunteers are heading to Ukraine to fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces, led by Mamuka Mamulashvili, Georgian National Legion (pictured training in Kyiv in January) commander
Yet Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said today he didn’t ‘want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians’ and asked people who were not properly trained or an ‘experienced member of an armed forced’ not to join the war in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was ‘very dangerous’, Mr Wallace told Sky News, and there were ‘better ways’ to support the country.
His words came after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday the UK would back Britons if they travelled to join the resistance movement who are bravely repelling the Russian forces.
Asked if the Prime Minister supported her remarks, a No 10 spokesman said the travel advice was not to go to Ukraine.
He added: ‘We think the best way of helping now is ensuring Putin fails.’
Friends and families of the Brits going to war told MailOnline of their worries for them being on the frontlines in Ukraine.
Mr Pinner’s sister Cassandra, who is a nurse in Bedfordshire, said: ‘He’s fighting as we speak, although I probably shouldn’t disclose where’.
Mr Pinner, who previously served in the Royal Anglian Regiment, said he fought with the Ukrainian army as a ‘contract soldier
Shaun Pinner (left) is a former soldier who married a Ukrainian woman and is fighting the Russians. Aiden Aslin (right) gave up being a carer to fight Isis in 2015. Now he is in Ukraine
‘He’s going in now, [I] sent a final message just in case.’
She said the rest of her brother’s team would be joining him on Thursday.
This week they are frantically searching for chest seals to treat battle wounds before they head to Ukraine, she added.
A friend of Mr Aslin, Kattia Beckinsale-Yates, told MailOnline: ‘I messaged the other day but haven’t heard anything back.’
She added she was ‘hoping and praying he’s safe’.
Mr Pinner’s sister Cassandra (pictured), who is a nurse, told MailOnline: ‘He’s fighting as we speak, although I probably shouldn’t disclose where’
A friend of Mr Aslin, Kattia Beckinsale-Yates (pictured), told MailOnline: ‘I messaged the other day but haven’t heard anything back.’ She added she was ‘hoping and praying he’s safe’
Father-of-seven Antony Zamparelli told GB News he was willing to die for the Ukrainian cause and urged other Brits to ‘go to Ukraine if you’re willing to fight for freedom’.
MailOnline revealed on Saturday that foreigners are crossing into Ukraine to take up arms after a call from president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Aslin is a former carer who left his job in April 2015 and travelled to Syria to fight Isis in Syria.
He spent ten months there before coming home to the UK, where he was arrested.
He was held for 30 hours after officers boarded his plane at Heathrow, where members of his family were eagerly awaiting his arrival.
He was immediately taken to Nottinghamshire Police headquarters for questioning over a suspected terrorism offence.
He remained on bail for months until all charges were dropped in October 2016.
Now, in Ukraine, he is not the only Britain ready to fight off a Russian invasion.
Both Mr Aslin (left) and Mr Pinner (right) are prepared to fight off a Russian invasion in Ukraine as they wait on the frontline
The former carer has been joined by ex-soldier Mr Pinner, from Bedfordshire.
He is married to a Ukrainian woman and has been in Donbas for the past four years.
Mr Pinner previously served in the Royal Anglian Regiment and said he fought with the Ukrainian army as a ‘contract soldier’.
Speaking from a trench ten miles outside Mariupol, he said: ‘I am here defending my family and adopted city. Russia started this war – it’s funded by Russia and driven by Russia. But we will fight them, make no mistake about that.’
Mr Pinner said fighting in the trenches was ‘like Hell’, with snipers ‘less than 600m away’.
Aiden Aslin, 28, was held for 30 hours by Nottinghamshire Police on his return to the UK from Iraq in 2016
Mr Pinner said there has been tension in Ukraine’ for years’.
‘It’s only new to Europe, who have finally woken up to what’s happening here,’ he told Al Jazeera.
Mr Pinner is one of the oldest in his unit, which has three Brits and one Croatian as well as Ukrainians.
The team is known as the Marines First Battalion. ‘I’ve always got something to prove,’ Mr Pinner added.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline commander Mamulashvili said: ‘I have a very big group of Britons, around sixty travelling to Ukraine to join up with my Georgian National League unit.
‘They are travelling by car from the UK and will cross over at the Polish border. I am expecting them here with equipment and supplies in the next few days.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (pictured) said the UK will back Britons going to fight in Ukraine
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) said he didn’t ‘want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians’ and asked people who were not properly trained or an ‘experienced member of an armed forced’ not to join the war in Ukraine
A Russian tank burning in the Ukrainian city of Sumy just days after newly revealed dashcam footage showed a huge column of tanks moving in
‘They are mostly guys who have fought with me in Ukraine before but there are also new recruits as well.
‘We will provide them with training and weapons and they are coming from London and all over Britain.
‘Their background is former British Army and Special Forces and they are good fighters, they can be trusted to take on the Russian aggressors and most importantly win.
Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine faces a ‘crucial’ 24 hours as Russia throws even more ground forces at Kyiv
Plumes of smoke rise from a building, which was caused by a cruise missile according to local media, in Kyiv, Ukraine
Smoke billows over the town of Vasylkiv, which is just outside Kyiv on February 27
Public Chernihiv reports that a rocket hit a residential building in the centre of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv. A fire broke out with two lower floors ablaze. The number of injured is currently unknown
‘What I want to stress is that none of them are getting paid, they are not mercenaries, they are all volunteers.’
Commander Mamulashvili is a veteran of the 2008 war against Russia in Georgia and a mixed martial arts expert and founded the unit in 2014 to provide foreign fighters in Ukraine’s war against Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region.
He added: ‘The guys from the UK are just bringing basic equipment with their uniforms and rations, they will get weapons when they arrive.
‘Putin is very much mistaken if he thinks he will take Ukraine, he will face a fight to the death as the Ukrainian army has shown how brave and strong it is.
‘They have experience and now they have good equipment from the rest of Europe and the world and now we have the backing of some of the best foreign volunteer soldiers in the world.
‘We know some of us might die but unless we fight against Russia, Putin will just keep going and trying to take countries.
‘When he went into Georgia in 2008 the then President of my country said Ukraine would be next and he was right.’
Father-of-two Mamulashvili added that he ‘expected’ the number of volunteers from Britain and elsewhere to top 500 within the next few days after having received dozens of requests asking for details on how to join up.
Members of Georgian Legion train civilians to adapt them with the self-defence capabilities in January
The paramilitary unit formed mainly by ethnic Georgian volunteers to fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine in 2014, now includes people of various nationalities
Commander Mamuka Mamulashvili told MailOnline: ‘anyone from the UK who wants to come and fight is to get in touch with the Ukrainian embassy in London and they will advise how to get to our base. If that is not possible volunteers should make their way to Poland and cross the border into Ukraine and head for the city of Lviv where we have a mobilisation base and make themselves known to the local authorities’
He added: ‘My advice for anyone from the UK who wants to come and fight is to get in touch with the Ukrainian embassy in London and they will advise how to get to our base.
‘If that is not possible volunteers should make their way to Poland and cross the border into Ukraine and head for the city of Lviv where we have a mobilisation base and make themselves known to the local authorities but for obvious reasons I cannot give you the exact address.’
Earlier this year it emerged that at least two Brits were fighting in Ukraine, Aiden Aslin, 28, from Newark, Nottinghamshire and Sean Pinner, 48, from Bedfordshire.
Harry Jackson, 27, who founded UK Aid for Ukraine, and launched an appeal on Facebook for volunteers and equipment said he had been ‘flooded with offers of help’.
Harry said: ‘I’m putting people in touch with Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgian National Legion.
‘I have helmets, flak jackets and medical supplies all going out as well as a group of volunteers.’
On Sunday President Zelensky urged foreigners to head to Ukrainian embassies in their home countries to sign up for an ‘international brigade’ to help fight invading Russian forces.
He said: ‘All foreigners wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupiers and protect global security are invited by the Ukrainian leadership to come to our state and join the ranks of the territorial defence forces,’ Zelensky said in a statement on the presidential website.
‘A separate unit is being formed from foreigners — the International Brigade of the territorial defence of Ukraine. This will be a key testimony of your support for our country.’
Since 2016 it has been legal for foreigners to join the Ukrainian army.