BRITISH fighters were gathered just yards from where a Russian cruise missile blitz wiped out 35 Ukrainian soldiers, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
Scores of Brit veterans narrowly escaped death in the attack — just 11 miles from Nato territory.
Hundreds of western volunteers were packed into a building close to barracks hit by rockets, a source revealed.
He said: “A hundred yards difference you would be looking at hundreds of western casualties.
“There were so many passports in there — British, Brazilian, Canadian, American, you name it.
“It was like the Star Wars canteen. There were gun nuts, biker gangs, tough guys, American religious people there to do God’s work, war addicts.
“One British guy was boasting that he’d killed someone in a bar fight.
“Another Brit said he was a Royal Marine who wasn’t at liberty to disclose his rank or his unit — that’s a red flag right there.
“There’s no vetting, there’s no command and control, no chain of command. It’s a complete sh*t show.”
Russia launched more than 30 cruise missiles at the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, in the city of Yavoriv, near the Polish border, on Sunday morning.
Most of the missiles, fired by long-range bombers in Russian airspace, were shot down by Ukraine’s air defence systems.
But eight made it through, slamming into barracks at the base where western forces were training local soldiers just before the war began.
Rumours spread that foreign fighters were among the dead and 134 injured but the legion’s spokesman said none of its members were hurt.
But the source said the attack had been a blow to the legion because dozens of volunteers later fled the base.
He said: “I think they had a shock when they realised what this is really about. It’s one thing talking tough.”
Defiant president Volodymyr Zelensky gave another rousing speech by video to his people, reminding them yesterday was Volunteer Day — “our purely Ukrainian holiday”.
Millions across Ukraine have joined groups to help the war effort by making anti-tank defences or doing weapons training. Zelensky praised them as “prerequisites for the liberation of our entire country”.
The civilian deaths toll continued to rise as merciless Russian troops yet again targeted residential areas.
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said Putin’s assault on the capital Kyiv had left it like a scene from an “apocalypse movie”.
There were so many passports in there — British, Brazilian, Canadian, American, you name it. It was like the Star Wars canteen. There were gun nuts, biker gangs, tough guys, American religious people there to do God’s work, war addicts.
Source
An apartment block in the city was blasted while residents were asleep, killing at least two and injuring three. The assault at 7.40am local time, left the nine-storey block a smouldering wreck with every window smashed and a staircase burnt out. Firefighters used extendable ladders to rescue residents from upper floors.
Kyiv’s major, former heavyweight boxing champ Vitali Klitschko, visited the scene as the grim search for more victims continued.
Hostomel Airport, in northern Kyiv, was again shelled.
To the west of the city, nine people were killed in a strike on a TV tower in Rivne. But Ukraine said it had shot down four Russian planes, three helicopters in 24 hours.
Dramatic footage emerged of an armoured vehicle blasting a Russian tank with the distinctive Z marked on it.
Russian spook Captain Alexey Glushchak, 31, was killed during a “top-secret” operation in Mariupol — meaning Putin has now lost 12 commanders in the invasion.
Details of how the GRU military intelligence spy died were not released. The GRU was behind the poisoning with Novichok of its former spy Sergei Skripal — who had defected to Britain — in Salisbury, Wilts in 2018.
A fourth round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended yesterday with no breakthrough.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab visited The Hague to offer UK legal expertise and technical support to the International Criminal Court as it considers war crimes claims.
PICTURES of women and children fleeing the horror of Ukraine’s devastated towns and cities have moved Sun readers to tears.
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