Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed its forces killed two British “mercenaries” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said the fighters were killed during an attack on the Ukrainian village of Mykhailivka, in the Donetsk region, which was taken by Russian forces on October 13.
The Defense Ministry quoted the deputy commander of the Russian battalion that led the assault, Igor Krasilnikov, as saying: “There were two British servicemen, mercenaries.” They basically stayed in that fortress.
“They were definitely military from Great Britain. There were stripes, flags on the uniform, NATO-style uniforms and the weapons were also foreign made.’
MailOnline was unable to verify the Kremlin’s claims or determine the identities of the “mercenaries”.
The Kremlin said at the time of the attack on the village that it hit a Ukrainian airfield and drone warehouses, as well as “accumulations of enemy manpower and military equipment.”
British volunteers and former troops have been killed in action in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
Emergency officials and firefighters conduct search and rescue operations in the rubble of a nearly collapsed house after Russian missile strikes in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Oct. 21, 2024.
Servicemen of Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade fire a French MO-120-RT heavy mortar at Russian forces on the front line near the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.
A firefighter works at the site of a Russian missile attack, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odessa, Ukraine, in this photo released on October 21, 2024.
In July, Peter Fouché, 49, a former London taxi driver, was buried after his murder. on June 27 when his unit clashed with Russian troops.
At the funeral ceremony, Ukrainian soldiers carried Fouché’s coffin through kyiv’s iconic Independence Square, the site of mass protests in 2014 that ousted a pro-Russian president.
Mr. Fouché’s comrades fought back tears as they lined up to say goodbye. Others read prayers while holding Ukrainian flags and military insignia.
His companion, dressed in a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, knelt to embrace the coffin.
Russia’s latest claims come after it was revealed that the UK Ministry of Defense was considering sending troops to Ukraine to train its forces to fight Russia.
Peter Fouché, 49 (pictured), helped create a charity called Project Konstantin which since 2022 has delivered essential supplies to frontline Ukrainian fighters.
A mourner pays his respects next to Peter Fouché’s coffin on July 6 as other soldiers remain vigil.
Comrades and friends of the late British combat medic Peter Fouché attend a farewell ceremony in his honor at Independence Square
the independent revealed earlier this month that senior military leaders were drawing up plans to travel to western Ukraine to provide intensive training to new recruits.
Britain has led a multinational campaign to train Ukrainian troops, under Operation Interflex, which has trained more than 45,000 soldiers as of September.
The British government expanded the campaign that month, meaning the UK will train Ukrainian troops until at least the end of 2025.
British Defense Secretary John Healey said at the time: ‘Operation Interflex has provided the brave men and women of Ukraine with the vital skills they need to defend their nation against Putin’s illegal invasion.
‘The expansion of this training, which is vital to the defense of Ukraine, is another example of the UK’s strong commitment to Ukraine.
‘The UK will continue to increase our support. “We will support Ukraine for as long as necessary.”
Despite international support for Ukraine, it has suffered many losses since the invasion began in February 2022.
The shield of the 93rd ‘Kholodny Yar’ brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces on a soldier’s patch on the Donetsk front in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on October 21, 2024
Debris lies on an auto repair shop building damaged by Russian shelling on October 21, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Russian forces are currently fighting street-to-street battles with Ukrainian troops on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Selydove, as Moscow’s forces push to gain control over the entire Donbas region, according to pro-Russian bloggers.
Russian forces, ordered into Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022, advanced in September at their fastest pace since March 2022, according to open source data, even though Ukraine seized part of Russia’s Kursk region. .
The Russian advance in recent months has focused on the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, over which Putin says he wants to gain full control.
In recent weeks, Russia has surrounded cities in the Donetsk region and then slowly restricted them until Ukrainian units are forced to withdraw. According to the bloggers, they are doing the same with Selydove, which before the war had a population of more than 20,000.
“Fighting is taking place street by street in the city,” according to Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born pro-Russian military blogger. “The attack on Selydove has intensified.”
Other pro-Russian bloggers posted videos of the intense shelling of Selydove. Reuters could not immediately verify the images. The Russian Defense Ministry had no comment and there was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, named after King Danylo, fire a 120mm mortar at Russian troops on the front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the city of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 15, 202
Ukrainian servicemen from the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a 120mm mortar at Russian troops on the front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 15, 2024 .
The General Staff of Ukraine’s army, in a report late Sunday afternoon, said Ukrainian forces had repelled 15 Russian attacks around several cities and towns, including Selydove. The report says nine battles are still being fought in the area.
The popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState showed that Selydove was in Ukrainian hands.
Russia controls about 80% of the Donbas, covering an area about half the size of the US state of Ohio, and is advancing westward along about 100 kilometers of a 1,200-kilometer front around tactically important cities. from Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
Ukraine’s two-and-a-half-year war is entering what Russian officials say is its most dangerous phase as Russian forces advance and the West mulls how the war will end.
Ukraine wants to become a member of NATO, a step that Russia has said would be unacceptable. The United States and key NATO powers have not publicly endorsed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s call for an immediate invitation to NATO membership.
Russian forces, who have taken about a fifth of Ukraine, control 98.5% of the Luhansk region and 60% of the Donetsk region. Together, the two regions form the Donbass, which is the cradle of the war.
After a pro-Russian president was overthrown in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and pro-Russian protests broke out in parts of the Donbass, where Moscow began supporting separatist forces.
MailOnline has contacted the UK FCDO for comment.