A soldier of fortune who battled ISIS is among a handful of Brits gearing up for a possible war against Russia on the Ukrainian frontline.
Aiden Aslin, 28, spent 10 months with Kurdish forces fighting IS in Syria in 2016.
He made national headlines on his return home, when he was arrested by Nottinghamshire Police under the terrorism act.
The former care worker was eventually acquitted after a massive public backlash.
But he did not go back to his day job, choosing instead to move to Ukraine where he is serving in the national army.
Aiden, from Newark, has been fighting Russian-backed separatists long before the latest tensions began.
Despite his previous experience he said the conflict – sparked when Kremlin backed forces seized huge parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014 – is mentally demanding due to the style of fighting: trench warfare.
The frontline has not moved since a ceasefire deal was reached in 2015, so soldiers stay in one place for six to nine months.
‘It is mentally exhausting, the threat of danger is constant and something as simple as going to the toilet could end up with you getting injured because drones can drop grenades,’ he told Al Jazeera, adding that the cold – as low as -30 C (-22°F) in winter – is brutal.
Aiden welcomed recent support from Britain, but called on the government to go further as the threat of a Russian invasion looms.
The US announced today that it will deploy around 3,000 troops to allies in eastern Europe – a move the UK and other western powers are considering.
While countries have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine directly, it is thought that at least 17,000 foreigners have travelled to the country to fight for militias on both sides of the divide in the last eight years of conflict.
And Aiden is not the only Britain ready to fight and die for a country that is not his own.
He has been joined by ex-soldier Sean Pinner, 48, from Bedfordshire.
Sean moved to Ukraine in 2018 after growing tired of working long hours and commuting in London. When the law changed and allowed foreigners to serve, he signed up for the military.
‘Now I’m married and with my adopted city of Mariupol under threat from Russian-backed separatists, it’s inspired me to stay longer,’ he said.
‘I feel a need to protect the Ukrainian way of life, even though I’m not Ukrainian.’
Sean said there are three British nationals and one Croatian in his unit, the Marines 1st Battalion, as well as Ukrainian citizens – and the ‘comradeship is great’.
But like Aiden, he says the conditions on the front are grim, especially in winter.
‘We are constantly observed by enemy drones, often they drop nice surprises for us,’ he said.
‘Snipers are always a threat and a big danger is trench sabotage – separatists come in at night and lay traps, mines or tripwires along trench walkways.’
Russia has denied it is planning to invade Ukraine, despite mobilising more than 100,000 troops at the border.
Boris Johnson travelled to Kiev yesterday to discuss the threat, saying war would be a ‘political, humanitarian and military disaster’.
The UK has helped to train more than 22,000 military personnel and provided £2.2 million worth of non-lethal weaponry.
Mr Johnson promised that he and the UK’s American allies had already prepared a package of sanctions that would target Russia’s commercial interests if it did invade.
But Mr Johnson used the press conference as an opportunity to appeal to Russia to solve this conflict diplomatically.
The Kremlin wants legally-binding reassurances that Ukraine will not be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Russia has also asked for any NATO-deployed weapons and forces to be halted and rolled back in Eastern Europe.
But NATO has rejected Russia’s demands, which the Kremlin says would address Russia’s concerns over the alliance’s expansion.
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