A Briton fighting Ukraine for Vladimir Putin lost an eye and suffered “serious” wounds to his chest and leg after his infantry vehicle was hit by an artillery shell, a Russian propagandist has claimed.
War correspondent Yuri Kotenok said 25-year-old Ross McElvenny, born in Glasgow and whose callsign was “Whisky”, is currently in a hospital in Rostov-on-Don after suffering injuries while fighting in the 1099th Rifle Regiment. Motorized from Russia.
The Briton, believed to be from Newton Mearns in East Renfrewshire, reportedly took to social media to speak to his pro-Putin supporters, although he did not specify what his injuries were.
“My name is Ross, callsign for Whiskey, but you may know me as Scotlandetz,” he said.
Describing himself as a “Scotland volunteer”, he added: “I am currently recovering in hospital because I was injured while fighting near Donetsk.
“I’m in a good mood and I have many friends who help me.
Glasgow-born Ross McElvenny (pictured) is said to be currently in hospital in Rostov-on-Don.
The Briton is understood to be from Newton Mearns, in East Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Yuri Kotenok (pictured) claimed McElvenny was in hospital after his vehicle was hit by an artillery shell.
‘I would like to say a huge thank you to the generous networks of volunteers who brought me supplies. I was finally able to get my favorite coffee for the first time in a long time.
‘I would also like to thank the medical staff for the hard work they do. I also can’t forget those who send me lovely messages, people I’ve known for a while and who continue to communicate with me frequently. You guys are amazing.’
The leaked documents appeared to verify his position as a volunteer in the Russian military.
A certificate circulating on Telegram appeared to confirm that he was performing military service as a private in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, signed by Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Kuznetsov.
He was drafted on August 10, 2024. His monthly salary in Putin’s forces is 13,318 rubles, or £105.70.
Despite this, McElvenny faces possible deportation from Russia, given his status as a British citizen, according to Kotenok, who said: “The problem is that he does not have Russian citizenship.” He came here on a tourist visa.
‘They want to dismiss him from (military) service because of his injury.
A certificate circulating on Telegram appeared to confirm that he was performing military service as a private in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
A photo provided by the Ukrainian National Police shows the site of a glider bomb attack on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Nov. 11, 2024.
‘Without Russian citizenship, you face deportation and return to the UK.
«The security services are waiting for him there, who have already raided and searched his parents’ house. He will be imprisoned for fighting for us.
Under UK law, it would be illegal for McElvenny to fight for Russia.
Section 4 of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 states: “It is an offense for a British subject to enlist in the army of a foreign state at war with another foreign state with which the United Kingdom is at peace.”
It also states that any person who contravenes the law “shall be guilty of an offense against this Act and shall be punished by fine and imprisonment, or any such punishment, at the discretion of the court before which the offender is convicted.”
It comes as Russia attempts to expel Ukrainian forces from its western Kursk region with tens of thousands of troops, Ukraine’s top commander said on Monday, aiming to regain territory it lost in the summer as it continues its offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi’s comment came a day after the New York Times reported that Moscow had assembled a force of 50,000 troops, including North Korean soldiers, in the region bordering Ukraine for an attack.
“Following an order from their military leaders, (Russian forces) are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control,” Syrskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Syrskyi made no reference to the possible presence of North Korean troops among Russian forces.
Western countries, South Korea and Ukraine have said North Korea has sent troops to Russia.
Soldiers and commander learn how to use an RPG launcher during a training of the drone unit of the 24th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on shooting with various weapons, medical evacuations and deployment of tactical medicine in the region from Donetsk, Ukraine, on October 26, 2024.
Debris from a destroyed bridge lies on severely damaged train tracks on November 10, 2024, in Pokrovsk, Ukraine.
Ukrainian firefighters respond to an artillery attack on November 10, 2024 in Pokrovsk, Ukraine.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops on its territory, although President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law a treaty on his country’s strategic partnership with Pyongyang that includes a mutual defense provision.
Ukraine launched its raid on Kursk in August, capturing settlements in its first such deployment on Russian territory since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia, however, has continued its slow but steady advance across much of eastern Ukraine, where it is capturing village by village in an attempt to seize the entire industrialized Donbas region.
In his statement, Syrskyi said the Kursk operation was still managing to divert Russian forces from carrying out more intense attacks on the Eastern Front.
“These tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian shock units would have stormed our positions in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhiv or Toretsk directions, which would have significantly worsened the situation on the front,” he said.
The New York Times report, citing a U.S. assessment, said Russia had bolstered the Kursk force without needing to move troops from eastern Ukraine.