Ukraine War: British Join Controversial Azov Regiment, Prepare to Spend Year Against Russian Invasion | World News

A British man joining a controversial Ukrainian military unit says he’s ready to spend the next year defending against the Russian invasion – and he hasn’t been deterred by the arrests of the rebels. other British.

Mark Ayres has spent the past two months in Ukraine after joining the Azov Regiment, of far-right origins – insists he challenged some members about their beliefs, and that the people he met were not “monsters and psychos”.

47-year-old British Army veteran with a teenage son in the United Kingdom, first spoke to Sky News when he arrived in Ukraine in early March, despite having no affiliation with the country.

Since then, Mr. Ayres said that he helped the Azov Regiment defend the city of Bucha, where Russia is accused of war crimes with mass murders and torture, rape and murder of civilians.

He has now been told he must wait in Kyiv to sign a contract with the Ukrainian military before taking part in any further military action, after several Britons were captured by Vladimir Putin’s troops. .

Mr Ayres – who had previously traveled to Syria to join the fight against Islamic State – said he had “no problem” with spending the next 18 months in Ukraine “until the hostilities stop”.

He told Sky News: “I hope I get home – not in a body bag – all intact.

“I have no problem with a year or a year and a half (in Ukraine).

“If (Putin’s) operation goes to plan, Moldova will be next and then he will keep an eye on some other countries and then maybe promote NATO, who knows.”

‘They are not monsters and psychos’

Mr Ayres said he had reservations about joining the Azov Regiment, which started out as a far-right paramilitary unit and is now part of the Ukrainian National Guard.

The regiment’s background was used by the Kremlin to justify its claim that Ukraine needed “de-fascistization”.

However, in March, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyywas a Jew, given the title Hero of Ukraine to an Azov commander.

Mr. Ayres told Sky News: “I joined the Azov unit by chance. It was probably my last choice of a unit to go to but I’m glad I did.

“They weren’t the monsters and psychopaths I envisioned as neo-Nazis – I mean they weren’t all of them.

“A lot of them are nice people, just with stupid views.

“I said to my partner: ‘I don’t understand how you can say you’re a neo-Nazi when you’re a gentleman, of good morals.’ And he was like: ‘Well, I’m not really…’

“It’s like they’re playing with it. They get caught up in wanting to belong to something that fascinates them. That’s stupid.”

Mr. Ayres said a member of his company was a “Jewish Ukrainian”.

“They might be some psychos in the battalion but I haven’t met any,” he added.

‘I don’t think I’m going to be tortured or killed pretty badly’

Mr Ayres said he knew there was a “possibility” he could be captured by Russian troops, but he believed being British meant he was more likely to be kept alive as he would be “quite valuable”.

He added: “I’ll probably be subjected to rough interrogation and interrogation and things like that but I don’t think I’m going to be tortured pretty badly … or killed.”

Mr. Ayres said he personally knew Aiden Aslin – one of the Two British fighter jets captured by Russian troops in Ukraine – because they were both in Syria at the same time.

Two UK aid workers have also been arrestedwhile ex-soldier Scott Sibley is the first British citizen to die in the Ukraine war.

Mr Ayres, who previously served in the Royal Blue Coat before being discharged from the army after a robbery conviction, said joining the military operation in Ukraine was like being a soldier again.

“I did two operations (in Ukraine),” he said.

“With Bucha, we were on the right flank across the river holding positions while our left flank attacked and pushed them away from Bucha.

“The cannon is very heavy. The battles are big.

“I haven’t really seen any skirmishes, it’s just artillery. Just hit by artillery.”

He added: “When you’re really shot in the shell, you can die at any moment – just one shell can land on you.

“I wouldn’t say I’m scared. You know what could happen.”

Read more:
Britons coming to Ukraine to join military combat leave fear of ‘suicide mission’
The British man who volunteered to fight against Russia refused because he considered him ‘a liability’

‘A geek shoots anti-tank missiles in his room’

Mr Ayres, from London but living in Bedford, said he believes his unit no longer wants to accept Western volunteers lacking military experience.

“They don’t want people to come in and then just train and equip and then just rest,” he added.

“I think there was a weirdo who fired an anti-tank missile in his room and fired himself.

“Just problems. They always cause problems.”

The Foreign Office has warned that Britons who come to Ukraine to fight could be prosecuted when they return to the UK.

However, Mr Ayres said those seeking prosecutions “will have no place” after remarks by Foreign Minister Liz Truss supporters of the British who wanted to go to Ukraine to fight.

He said he had previously been arrested after returning from Syria three times but had not taken further action.

“I’m still just focused on what’s going on here but I don’t think they’re going to have any consequences,” added Mr Ayres.

Mr. Ayres said he is currently staying in an apartment complex in Kyiv while his unit has moved to eastern Ukraine to face the Russian army.

“Now it’s the same as before the war. People are returning to Kyiv. Everything is running.

“It used to be like a ghost town.”

He added that he manages to talk to his 16-year-old son every two or three weeks.

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When asked how his son felt about his father’s participation in the military fighting in Ukraine, he replied: “He didn’t really say.

“I only got one answer from him…he’s that age.”