Ukraine war: The Brits who travelled to fight Russia
He was just an 18-year-old student when Russia invaded Ukraine but within weeks, Ben Atkin had crossed the border into Ukraine with an intention to fight and an acceptance he might not come back. (Subscribe: bit.ly/C4_News_Subscribe)
As the youngest known Briton to travel to Ukraine to join the war, it might not come as a surprise that what he found there shocked him.
But even for a 30-year-old former Royal Naval engineer like Curtis, the Foreign Legion was not what he expected.
In this Channel 4 News investigation, we hear the previously untold accounts of chaos in Ukraine's Foreign Legion - with claims of poor organisation, a lack of training and kit and unverified claims that more British volunteers have been killed, than reported by officials.
The Foreign Office told Channel 4 News they don't know exactly how many British citizens have travelled to Ukraine or how many have lost their lives.
Warning: This report contains some strong language.
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It feels like most of the volunteer were expecting to be treated as saviours and hoped to return with a beautiful ukrainian wife after they rescue her from russian soldiers
Either that or former veterans from Iraq/Afghanistan where they were used to operate in total air/artillery superiority against goat herders. Rude awakening.
One of my work colleagues went out to volunteer, he's now dead, sucked in by propaganda and ideology.
@@bandelerodirk Thats sad man :(
@@pyotrbagration2438 not sad darwin theory at its best
They turned out to be cannon fodder instead.
Well Russians are not sandal wearing afghans
Basement dwelling expert😂
@@Rogue_y you dont need phd to realise that :)
Well, we lost that war too. 🤣
@@haniffhaniff5764 you know afghanistan have defeated russia trying to invade numerous times?
Where do you get the 'numerous times' fiction?
This is actually a proper war with tanks , artillery,shovels and drones😂😂😂
n lövvbötZ? häl would be ´nice gäinst the cöpce ^ ^
And lots of cocaine...
In war you have to carry a shovel as part of your kit to dig a hole to crouch in.
the young lad expected to do a 12 week tour ? So he basically wanted a short break from home and return a hero with stories to tell his grandkids
It’s the common theme amongst these young men. A lot of the time you hear that they leave after 2-3 weeks once they realize what they’re up against. Dying an agonizing death is definitely a reality I don’t think they consider until they see it.
Bro thought the ukrainians gonna welcome him with a tray of tea and crumpets
Who would have thought being a soldier is dangerous?
Salmo 37 for protection God bless ukania family and volunteers 💙💛
What would you expect? All highly organised?
Truss has blood on her hands and should be held accountable.
they thought it was gonna be like fighting the taliban and the isis 😂😂😂 russia is whole different breed man
I dunno.. there's something truly sick about this war. something different than the rest.
Expectations vs. reality. The so called best sniper in the world bailed out, because he was probably expecting something akin Iraq or Afghanistan. Fighting against taxi drivers or pistachio sellers with slippers and pajamas, holding rusty AK. Ukraine is scary, there you go against heaviest artillery in the world, phosphor bombs.. Sniper guy was expecting war tourism, shooting Russians from 1 km away, bringing pictures and videos back home to Canada.
So true great comment
Truth
Afghans are good fighters, don't know about Iraqis.
😆😆😆
Precisely. Ukraine is NOT Iraq or Afghanistan. Putin and Russia have pursued a strategy of total warfare - more akin to what they did to Syria.
It's crazy what the BBC propaganda has done to these people. Absolutely crazy.
It's incredible to me these people believed Ukraine are the "good guys" in all of this. Ukraine canceled their federal elections during this conflict.
I don't understand something, if a Muslim goes to help in Palestine against the occupation, they consider him a terrorist, but if someone goes to help Ukraine, he is a hero
Well they are potentially costing the people that keep Israel economically afloat money 🤷🏼♂️. Welcome to the corrupt world little one.
Someone orchestrated the destruction of a country, causing death to hundred of thousands of their people, and causing immense distress to the whole country, in that chaos there are children trafficking and grand pilferages of humanitarian aid. There is hardly a squeak on genocide. While in another case, a brutal retaliation for an attack on their people with tens of thousands killed is called genocide.
It's called western hypocrite
Hamas is the Palestine branch of the Muslim Brotherhood Society of Egypt, which is banned in Egypt because it is a terrorist group.
ya , that is Yankee view of this world. In early 2000s The largest poster in Havana Cuba was Bush Jr. Poster read "Terrorista numero uno"
Imagine going to fight someone else’s war when you don’t even understand the politics behind it.
The dimwits deserved to come back horizontally, not vertically. It’s people like these who make keep war profiteers in business and their lackeys in office. Disgusting!
PAID THOUSANDS 💰💰💰
They don't even know where Ukraine is.
Idealistic Fools ! They don't know that Real War is like Vietnam.... Fake war is The Iraq War ! This is a REAL War !
Or the language .
They were probably waiting for the drunken Russians to attack, standing up and shouting "hurrah", waving the PPSH. That's what they usually show in the movies.
Too much television, too little brains.
Royal navy engineer with absolutley no combat experience , never dug a trench in his life, no understanding of basic infantry drills - basically one level above an Asda security guard - complete dreamer!
I don't know how they believe this propaganda of Russia going after the whole Europe and then the whole world and then Mars and Venus! Is it 16th century?? Propaganda kills innocent idiots like this.. USA has to run its MIC. They survive on warmongering..
Thinking navy engineer receives no combat training , you are beyond ignorant and delusional
but he is ======= Royal navy engineer, may be electrical engineer. can connect Royal navy generator to Royal navy electrical bulb.
This lad's well meaning, but naive, what did he expect, as untrained, he would be a liability to himself, and those around him!
theres NO COMMUNICATION between the british govt and it citizens : The corruption created a gap between them I GUESS .Or it is that theres too much COMPETITION between the lads there . These two
brainless, useless ...... They are not helping but troubling others.
Exactly. It's a bit much to then criticise the Ukrainians. A country being invaded like this is bound to be a fairly chaotic place.
It’s a bit annoying really because some groups in France are training individuals basic military tactics for training, arms usage and manoeuverability, but I haven’t heard about any such thing happening in the UK. If people intend to head over to Ukraine then they should really be groups willing to train people in the UK to give them a Headstart on possible training that could save their lives. I for one would sign up in an instant if I knew there was one but every time I try to search for them it always just goes down a rabbit hole of Internet sites that don’t lead to anything concrete that are even anywhere near me.
@@urbanimage Exactly. Especially as many of these people who are complaining, who are only a few tiny voices among the thousands who have headed over to Ukraine, headed over in the first few days or weeks of the foreign Legion even been created, so what did they expect. Plus it’s also different unit between unit depending on who got the equipment first and where they are positioned in the country. This divide was inevitable unless you can sign up with some groups to have a Quitman shipped to you directly, which many have done both for native Ukrainians and foreign fighters who have gotten many pieces of kit sent to them for free.
Exactly At my job we have this US war veteran who returned last month he spend 3 weeks in Ukraine but said he wanted to leave after 3 days he said “ I did it 4 tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and felt i had no combat experience because I have never experienced such artillery barrages and cruise missiles, rocket fire but as well a real professional army on other side, we also had no air support it felt absolutely hopeless, the Russian bombing never stops 24/7”
Now you know how the Iraqi and Afghanistan population felt.
But I thought the media were saying the Russians were losing?
@@mattcannon8467 the media also said the covid vax was safe and effective…we know that was the biggest lie.
One artillery shot sound from the Russians and you are already demoralised 😂😂😂 this is modern war! Germany is calling for military defense reform after seeing what Russia is capable of
@@TsarOfRuss And we all know how it works out for the world when Germany arms itself. Maybe Germany shouldn't have be part of the coup in 2014 and there would be no war.
Senseless. Imagine fighting for a country that’s not yours.
I mean they say they thought it for good however a lot of soldiers just want to be in a combat zone and curtis seems like the type and you wouldnt say on live news you enjoy war and want to be in it because thats when people think bad of you
And being baited and switched on the terms and conditions. And being foolish enough to believe the Ukraine government hadn't antagonized anyone.
What, like Britain and the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa etc etc etc did in WW2?
A different era when there was much more honor and support throughout society.
No country is yours. You may be born there, live there, or whatever.....but it's not your country!! That's how I see it. And do not think about the PATRIOTIC BS, because that's just what it is BS...!!!!
Just one remark: The fighting vehicle, crushing blue sedan, is Ukrainian and it happened in 2014-2015 in Donetsk region.
Thankyou
@@dartharpy9404 any time.
Thanks, I was wondering. Typical western propaganda. I'm American.
yes. ukrainian army killed civilians in civilan car in 2014 when ukrina declared Anti Terrorist Operation
Going there as a volunteer without full proper training is like giving a present in form of liability. That's not bravery, that is ignorance and stupidity.
🤦 exactly! These boys have no clue.
Yes but they win at COD.
Look at history, war is full of foreign volunteers. Stupid? Yes But the noble thing to do? Yes
@@norfangl3480 yes but now war is not faught with bolt action rifles. Some well placed artillery can finish a company in minutes.
But why to go there and fight?! What for?! Didn’t they know the truth about ukrainean nationalist government? and the atrocities committed by them in eastern Ua? Since 2014 they killed about 14000 russian people(separatist and mostly civilians). They believed the fake scenery made by western media, but they got a lesson, I hope.
The Tommies made their experiences in the asymmetrical wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There they were on the stronger side with air support, evacuation if necessary and so on. In Ukraine they suddenly played the part of the Taliban and the Iraqi insurgents. For people for whom war meant that they shoot and only others die this must have been a most unpleasant experience.
What a load of nonsense
Exactly, big shock when the boot is on the Russian foot, lol.
@@cloraformsgood5340 это не ерунда, они приехали на сафари, поохотиться на ,,диких,, русских. А оказались в роли добычи😁😁😁
Exactly
This movie about the iraq war where a soldier goes through without firing a shot and he goes back home.
He went from Rambo to DoorDash driver
Liz Truss must be held accountable for those British citizens killed in Ukraine.
Liz Truss🤣
well you can chat to her about Cheese and apples her favourite Subject
Liz TruSS
British soldiers finding out what its like to fight without air cover against another army with similar weapons nice to have awacs and f15s and f35s overhead it is totally different
it always felt weird to me to hear isaf forces would call in air strikes on the taliban while saying they wouldn't fight fair because they used ied's and didn't wear uniform. i'm sure if they had access to uniform and an air force they would have used them instead.
@@cliveramsbotty6077 That's true, but if you're going to fight with a modern army, especially the Americans. You have to account for the tech and training they bring with them.Essentially guerrilla warfare is just trying to make the superior force realize it's not worth the blood and treasure to win the fight
They thought it would be just like fighting some durka arabs with ak’s... woopsie
@John Grigg absolutely true they have minimized civilian casualties by 90 percent compared to the Russians
This is nothing even United states have seen before. Those so-called monopoly war they've been fighting in afghanistan and iraq is nothing compared to Russian artillery and airstrikes flying over your heard every second. This is a real war not someone riding a horse with an AK 47 in their hands trying to shoot at a tank
It reminded me of the Wali story…Wali fired two shots to scare Russians in return he got two Russian tank shells, the first shot he received he was running 100km/h and by the second shot he reached Canada. That’s what the best sniper can do. Keep running Wali… from the longest confirmed kill to longest confirmed sprint
Epic comment🤣🤣🤣👏👏👏
Did he leave ??? Damn
😁Hahaha
Very good that he left
Hhhhh waa so fakaday miyaa
But if you go fight for Muslim groups defending their own, you’re a terrorist? Give me a break.
Muslims groups, do you mean terrorists? Give me a break 🎉🎉
No, the difference is one is part of an organization that behads babies, rapes women and hide behind civilians, and the other is part of an organization that fights russian soldiers.
They also never allow them to come back once they leave.. hypocrisy at it's finest
There is a difference between fighting against an army and attacking civilians
@@aayushprakhar1711 Fighting Bashar Assad vicious paramilitary army was civilians? Fighting USA invasion of Iraq was civilians? Fighting Russians in Chechnya was civilians? Bosnian Muslims defending themselves against Serbian armies was civilians? Give me a break. Whenever it the Muslims are justified in defending themselves against tyranny here comes NATO funding groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda to mingle in the wars and create confusion.
Try to fight a bear with toothpick, I got nothing else to say
Going into a war zone with absolutely no military experience is stupid and suicidal. Best one can do is to help with Humanitary support, transport food, weapons/ammo or injured soldiers.
Better if he help for refugees in UK.
Some jobs advertised online, Offered up to $2000 per day, some people joined for less than a week and then quit, just to make a quick $10,000
War is fun though
@Slimy von Perkele G49 no it's stupid... it's very different if you dpon't have a choice and everyone speaks your language
Mind your own
Too much call of duty.
🤣
Chadimir. Do you prefer Command and Conquer?
🤣
@@Andygb78 dude you got no likes? the heck man ? you got it now? or not still ?
I will said Desert Stone 😂😂
10:14 Russian president said so many times, where Russia will stop. Why not just listen to him once?
The guy is a man child no critical thinking.
The CIA and NATO started the war not Russia.
"Man, I wish I could go to war and fight Russians" 😀 What could possibly go wrong?
I'd say anything encouraged by the home secretary should have given him pause for thought
Everything would go wrong
Everything would go wrong if you think your presence will help in the war
OOCHOO - Don't worry, you can go with Nato soon.. Just make sure you have a will, in case you find yourself in Siberia, working in a coal mine for good..
They thought they're going on a hunting trip. They want to bag some Russian bears. They thought it would be like Iraq where the only thing the enemy has are AKs and a few IEDs. They never thought they could die. When the wounded bear fights back with tanks, jets, bombs and missiles and they see their friends blown up right in front of them, reality sinks in then they start to panic, beg, cry and want to go back to their cozy homes eating steaks and drinking beer and play Call of Duty on the computer instead of being in it.
Very well said
wdym
@John Grigg Yeah, those are just cannon fodder, but backed with artillery, tanks, helis and more
@John Grigg the only thing they will be pounding is the ground as they run back home
@John Grigg you mean like USA? Who ran like cupcakes after raping and god knows what else in every war they have started!
Reminds of the same stories from the Spanish Civil War, International Brigade. Read George Orwell’s experience in that war.
Difference is that was a war worth fighting.
The West, lied to and brainwashed by the press. Now having major buyers remorse.
@@Coolerman565 Nope. Fascism is not without its merits.
@@Kousaburo Like what?
@@Coolerman565The Republican side was butchering nuns, priests and believers enmass. Fighting for Godless communists is not a fight worth fighting.
The idiots who went to fight alongside the far right Nazi Azov Battalion lol
You are correct
They are not Nazis, you been drinking Putin's koolaid again.
What did they expect? Ukraine was under attack in every corner. They didn’t have time to train. They didn’t even have time to runaway. If you gonna go, go with full knowledge that it’s a war zone and chances are you won’t be coming back.
Exactly, perhaps the young watch too much call of duty..he went to score UkraineONE girls not realizing not all is what u see #odessa a land of groom looking for daddy...pretty visual sell to masse
Yup, the majority are very delusional about wars, calculating only victory, when you should only expect death and amputation before making such a decision. Like one man said: war starts as a beautiful maiden that allures every fool, but once it is heated it turns to a horrible and ugly witch no one even dares to come close to.
Exactly
Bruh... they’ve been trained by nato officers for eight fokkken years.
Exactly!
Anyone who thinks this conflict is akin to a war tourism experience is in for a rude awakening…the brutality of the Russian war machine is not a thing to be taken lightly…. Bottom line if you don’t have military / combat experience you’re a liability
What kind of experiance, fighting bearded guys in flip flops?
@@lakyluciano4219better than no experience at all, at least those combat vets know what it’s like to be shot at.
@@em34ev3r Yes you are right. What I realy meant is they are not fighting a rug tug bunch of local tribesman. They are fighting not only proffessionals !but people who are very tough and have a history of bringing down western empires! There is no calling in air strikes, artillery suppprt, reinforcments, SF support and EVACS! TheUS mercenary casualties are higher thn the Whole US Armies loses in the past 30 years
Yeah a lot of these guys come off as combat addicts, but they’re used to obliterating a goat herder with a rusty ak 800 meters out then calling an air strike on his dead body. The Ukraine front is 2 modern armies both suffering massive losses. In one month the combined losses can be more than what was seen in Afghanistan for multiple years. Doubt we’ll be seeing any ‘combat addict war junkies’ leaving the Ukraine front line.
@@spencethegreat38 Well, what about the dumb civilians that have zero experience in warfare. A lot of these idiots leave their day jobs to join and fight for Ukraines cause, only to be sent into the front lines as cannon fodder by the Ukrainian commanders lol. Majority of these volunteering idiots come from the U.S. and Western Europe.
I thought Russians were fighting with shovels 😂😂
Went to be hero’s - ended up beaten n robbed by Ukrainian Nazis
I won’t disrespect this man his reasons for going are for him to live with. People think the Russians are a weak army ect because of social media and the news, I don’t care for the Russians but I respect them. Before you venture into warfare remember it doesn’t stop for you. Remember you are a pin on a map taped to a wall in a room with people making choices over you, your better off accepting you already dead and only matter to the people next to you. My personal opinion, go if you want but don’t moan about what war is. What a soldier is.
As a ukrainian who is currently here in Ukraine I'm 100% agree with you. We spent 8 years on trainings. Both on theory and practice. We dissolved russian tactics to atoms so we can better understand what they are planning to do in this and that situation. And still things are not going good at some point. So yes, you should do not underestimate your enemy, thats exactly what russians did towards us. People think if russians failed its because of their weakness. Because, cmon, Ukraine?! But people forget that Ukraine was part of USSR. And every 2nd sergant in soviet army was ukrainian.
Western media sold him a lie
@@josephgrmovsekcollaredcons6085 and like every narcissist, he first told himself lies.
@@vladoleshko6741 are u fighting in eastern front? How’s the situation i heard Ukrainians are having bad time in Luhansk region only 2-3 cities are under Ukrainian control and Severdonetsk is going to fall as well
@@vladoleshko6741 Russians didn't think you were weak, there was intel failure on their end.
That is a Ukraine tank that lost control that went over the car. The tank driver was a teenager still.
Yes, exactly and in western media, they show it as a Russian tank! pure po po ganda... this incident happened in early days and in part of Kiev where Russia never reached..
kzhead.info/sun/rMt6ob17b3yFhIE/bejne.html The western media is hypercritical we should not even be involved, I don't agree with Putin invading the Ukraine but how long can you back a dog into corner without a response, all is not what it seems in the Ukraine, the Putin interviews with Oliver stone is very eye opening
Reminds me of Wali's Story. He only fired like two shots at some random Russian soldiers and in the heat of the moment, received two tank shells and even though he had a Javelin, the tank was sniping at his apartment room from so far away that he couldn't even use it with his Assistant Spotter.
@@xZxOxVx The only thing russians soldiers are better than at killing their own is killing civilians.
A tank round landed between the two Ukrainians assigned to them,killing them both.
@@xZxOxVx lol fascist ruzzki bot
I watched another interview with the 19 year old British guy that went to Ukraine to help. He said the Ukrainian military treated him terribly. He said they wouldn't give him training, armor, a helmet, or a weapon. He said they wouldn't even give him decent food that wasn't spoiled. He said he would have to worry about getting food poisoning. Why Ukraine?
They are Nazi! Geezus how do you people not lookup facts?
So sad take condolenses
Because thats what regular UA soldiers get also? Lots of videos where soldiers say that they have to buy their own vests, guns ammunition. I remember seeing videos of soldiers filming the mouldy bread they were sent to eat. He was just treated the same as everyone else. The only people who get th8ngs supplied to them are the "elite" units that then "represent" the UA army on social media etc.
People go Syria and they called terrorists but man goes Ukraine and u called a freedom fighter .. double standards mark my words your days are numbered
Those going to Syria are fighting with militias and armed groups, some of which are associated with terror groups. Completely different.
Just on that very comment if you was to fight for ISIS shouldn’t you be labelled as a terrorist considering ISIS was recognised as a terrorist organisation not only off the western world but the Middle East aswell as apposed to fighting for Ukraine that is simply trying to help out someone stopping a full scale invasion from Russia which could target us in the uk.
Isis is a deadly terrorist organisation committed crimes against Muslims and humanity
@@user-cf4xu6rs5q most of these comments are not even westerners... don't take them seriously
@@user-cf4xu6rs5q it’s the behavior not the team. Also of note, the NATO initiated and armed ISIS.
A well deserved fate and a harsh lesson to learn for naive Westerners who having sucked up to dubious Western propaganda over the Ukrainian war,joined up the fight and assumed they will get the red carpet treatment in Ukraine only to realize they were just cannon fodder
And worse they are completely propagandized and know FA about this proxy war. Ukraine has been waging a genocidal war against other Ukrainians who speak Russian for the past 8 years. SBU kidnapping and torturing people, the lies which have been done by the west is astronomical.. Azov and other extreme far right are not a small minority it sickens me the gullable UK population who are suffering because of a corrupt little heel wearing puppet. He call for Ukrainians to die while he sits comfortably snorting cocaine, hopefully as is rumoured a military coup will take place by the head of UAF.
No Comments from Ukrainian Embassy 🤐🇬🇧🤣🙄Burisma 🤔Where's Hunter?
Its not vietnam war or Afganistan. You will fight with very well trained army. Go back son. Its not play ground.
Vietnam was brutal though
but we got well trained snakes, mosquitos and well trained jungles
Average iq of people who fight
Brits getting to experience what it's to be on the other end of overwhelming firepower for once instead of inflicting it like they usually do.
Been a long time since they did that.....pre WW1 would probably be the last time.
Thats not true at all, the british army were woefully under equipped and outnumbered on many occasions in Afghan in the 00s especially earlier on in the war.
@@Thisisahandle701 As I pointed out....they haven't really been in the conversation for a long long time. The empire has been impotent for a long time.
@@cornpopsrazor5375 The British essentially won the First World War, along with the French. The American and Russian contributions were negligible. Again in the Second World War, the Brits carried North Africa, carried the Air War and carried the Battle of the Atlantic. They wiped out cities. They were invaluable in Sicily and Normandy, they overwhelmed Argentina. They are a nuclear power. The Brits grad the hardest task in the air in the first Gulf, low level straight over runways. The Brits are incredibly good at war. Furthermore, they didn’t lose an insurgency, they won. TWICE, the Viet Minh (literally their own Vietnam) and the IRA. Either you don’t know jack about history, or you are will fully ignorant. Look at US casualty figures for both wars and compare them to British.
@P T Well yes. Great arguement there.
A bunch of gamers thinking they were going to respawn after a shot to the head.....its the real deal and Ukrainians are having to live through it every day...They don't need sightseers who will get in there way.
Agree... what Ukrainians are enduring... we can't even imagine
Ukrainians started the war 8 years ago with over 14000 Donbass citizens killed before Russia special operation , Ukrainians killing Ukrainians for years
*their
@@eyesopen7946 ..No sorry ! Putin had his eyes on the Donbass and Crimea region since the Ukrainian government looked to the West for industrialisation of there gas and oil fields in those area..meaning Russia losing monopolisation on feeding Europe there gas/oil dependency. So he feed lies through his media saying the invasion was for Russian speaking PPL's security. Sad really !
@@MrEnajiza No get things right As to what you are propagandising , the Republic of Donbass had a vote of 96% to break away from the corrupt Ukrainian government and form it own little country in 2014 after an illegal coup and since then the Ukrainian army has been shelling the Citizens of Donbass killing over 14000 residence since 2014 to February 2022 , and add into it far right extremist Nazis infiltrated the Ukrainian army know as Azov regiments and C14 , you really are on the Propaganda Russia does not need oil and gas they have more than plenty for the world , do some research , and usa has been goading Russia Ukraine into war since 2013 , all facts look it up , Russia has done the right thing with its special operation also Crimea is doing very well with a 93% vote to re-join Russia , the west needs oil and gas not Russia lol
0:25 😂 my guy thought he was Rambo
I thought that it was illegal to be a mercenary in the UK? Or does that not count for specific conflicts?
of course its always ok if you fight the governments "enemy". UK has fallen to globalists and their war mongering agenda
Hey this is what happens if you join a war you know nothing about...
Your point being ?? Or is this comment just a "look how clever I am "
@@iainclark4835 No...that seems the point of your comment...
@@chance2929 That your best shot? Pathetic.
Kwaaaah lol
@@chance2929 Yet you can offer nothing meaningful either. I appreciate that first impressions can sometimes be wrong but you do rather come across as a bit of a kvnt.
Lots of dead ones pushing up grass,dont play with an army that doesnt wear flipflops and herds goats
I felt like I dodged an airstrike😂
Thick cnuts who playing COD too much
It's interesting that many of those volunteers who fight against invasion had been in Iraq or/and Afghanistan or Syria on the side of invaders.
As a professional infantry soldier I will say exactly what Russian regular Infantry soldiers are thinking "Keep them coming"
A lot of Russian soldiers have no combat experience either, especially conventional war. Not many people who do these days, that may change though..
@@John-mf6ky you are sooo full of it
@@John-mf6ky russian millitary doctrine changed in a way to rotate as much troops as possible trough the battlefield in a month and cycle them around. And so on. Even western armies did tests which proved 1 week of combat experiencw is equal to more than 3 actice months of training. Not to mention the biggest reason for the "efficiency" of that = combat is cheaper than plain training
Russians have at least basic training - which is 1-2 months, or far longer for specialist units. There are many reports from actual Ukranian guard units who have repeatedly said they got 1 hour training, shot off a clip with an AK and were sent to the front! (The PR line is 5-10 days, which isnt what their own troops report) Mercenaries as you can see didnt even get provided weapons armour, let alone training..!
@@Unknown_Web_User Endless reels of footage showing confused 19 year old untrained Russian cannon fodder, you're talking absolute sh*t
These mercenaries are fighting to keep the Courpt regime of Ukraine 🇺🇦. Before the war Ukraine was one of the most courpt countries in the world.
Russia all the way. Btw am very right of center America is fucking Europe and the middle East down with NATO
Both these men were completely unsuited and I'll prepared to fight in Ukraine. Neither had even basic training to give them an ability to fight. Their expectations were naive and childish, it's a good job neither really saw much action or they would be dead or seriously injured by now. Many other experienced soldiers came to Ukraine and fought or are still fighting. This interview just picked a pair of fools to speak to. Before anyone say's that Justin had military training ....he was a sailor not a soldier ... the training he had would not in any way prepare him for fighting in Ukraine.
These boys are the perfect candidates for the darwin award.
A comedian could never lead me to war
1:04 you know the war was bad when the same Ukranie army tank was running over civilians cars. And yes that tank was confirmed to be Ukranie tank…
No it wasn't. That's the same time the URAL got ambushed by 1 guy and then that same btr thing drives by and doing that.
Russian troll.
@@atariukass1 trying to deny reality is bad for your health, and it was confirmed… That was at the beginning of the war when Ukranians where not able to use military equipment efficiently and they let prisoners to hold weapons(lots of crimes recorded thanks to that and probably deleted from internet) that isn’t even a Russian tank to being with at the time that was filmed Russia has their tank in a line to take road.
Most of them don't return home after meeting real soldiers who have much higher moral and experience.
Bonhoeffer's theory of stupidity in a nutshell. "You can't fix stupid".
I have a cousin who just returned from a 3 month contract in Ukraine. His experience was the total opposite to what you've described here. He experienced no food shortages among soldiers, we would send him care parcels - all he asked for was biscuits when we could have sent him as much food as he needed. It's a war, you live in a muddy trench not a hotel, you get rained with artillery not pillows. You wear dirty wet clothes not warm pyjamas. It's a war in a war zone, not a video game on your couch.
That's what I thought
Ask who's winning.
Not giving soldiers basic equipment and food. Sure buddy keep shilling lies.
Russia had to lose twenty thousands soldiers to learn a new war strategy! Russia had very gentle approach in the beginning. Russia is now wiping out resistance by long range missiles and artilleries before any ground advance! Ukraine does not have any long range missiles or artilleries! USA and NATO do not want to give long range weapons to Ukraine. USA and NATO are ready to give away Donbas, Mariupol, and Kherson to Russia to end the war with a peace talk. Russia will take them now but Russia will eventually take Odesa and Kharkiv as well at one point.
Did you need your cousin to tell you that?
Raise your hand if you’re aware of the 2014 coup, Minsk agreement that Ukraine did not abide, the 14,000+ killed since 2014 from continuous Ukrainian shelling of people in the east (still being fired upon. See Patrick Lancaster) & the refusal to demilitarize/denazzify ✋This invasion was 100% avoidable, can be ended at any time w genuine desires for democracy & peace talks. Prayers for all the lives lost, including those from 2014 to today. As unnecessary as Afghanistan. Thousands of lives lost while corrupt government leaders play proxy war $$
Raise ur hand if your aware that russia attacked ukraine unprovoked for no reason but greed👋
Raise your hand if you have been fooled by russian propaganda and support the killing of innocent ukraine civilians… ur hand should be raised
Raise your hand if you are ready to give away 10% of youre country to russia, and 10% more in 10 years, and 10% more in 20 years. Minski agreement was dictated by the West to Ukraine as a tribute to Putin. No one in the West even thinks that tanks, missiles, artillery - all this was built and modernized at the expense of components sold by Europe. And now they are threatening Finland, Poland and the Baltic on their own with rockets and fighter planes with German optics and French microcircuits. Bravo, people like you provoked this, that they were always talking about world peace. If you want peace, prepare for war. It was extremely stupid to hope that the child of the USSR would be less bloodthirsty and insane.
@@apollo2419 Go study some history before throwing idiotic comments
@@apollo2419 you liked your own comment and asked your mom to like it too amirite
A lot of people here completly missing the point...
There are still people beliving that that strela in the middle of Kiev at the start of the invasion was a russian tank lol
people believe what they wanna believe.
I was going to post about it. The vehicle was stopped later that day, and the occupants were all ukranian. Then the Ukraine authorities tried to spin it as "russians in stolen ukranian uniforms"! What utter bullshit. But the media never issued a clarification or retraction, and just allowed the fake story to spread around the world. The media is just spinning the narrative, and burying any piece of news that shows the ukranians in bad light. Like the execution of tied up russian soldiers, or shooting captives in the legs. The way the media is carrying on is sickening...
Of course it was
@@Thisisahandle701 lol it wasn’t !!! 😂😂 it was a panic Ukrainian !
@@Thisisahandle701 nope. This video is full of ua propaganda cuts
These men clearly aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.
🤣
They are tough nuts, though, especially the one who looked like Ben Stokes, another tough nut who demonstrated his toughness by breaking his wrist when punching a locker in the changing room.
@@Andygb78 ben stokes looking guy was even more dumb than the first guy since not only did he go to ukraine, he also paid a lot of money to provide for the soldiers there
I have a relative and a couple of friends there. They are hardened to combat and actually feel lost back in the real world. They have found this experience to be very uncomfortable.
So they’re like Hitler, lol.
We all know Ukrainian forces are full of it.
@@robreich6881 except they might not be psycopathic and not fit to lead humans 😂😂🙏🏿
U r lucky to tell the story
OK Billy BS, stop the BS Pinocchio
These dude thought they were going to the middle east or Africa to fight against rock throwers lol
Like other people have stated: what did they expect? Ukraine is one of the poorest & most corrupt countries in Europe. They are fighting against the second biggest army in the world, who are the "Kings of Artillery". Its a very tough war.
SLAVA UKRAINI!!!
@@Gurkha73able Oh shut up.
@@Gurkha73able calm down KZhead warrior
THE TRUTH kzhead.info/tools/bjTWVaRx6jMN5ZYgbqe2_w.html About Ukraine: nation created in Lenin's time (not to be confused with the history of the city of Kiev and/or with Kievan Rus & its Rurik dynasty started by Prince Rurik of Novgorod; Novgorod is an ancient Russian city), but only theoretical/administrative terms, since it remained under Russian control in the Soviet era, the conformation of its territory today consists mainly of territories that have historically belonged to the Russians (from the center to the eastern and southern side) and the western side has historically belonged to Poland. Important issue about Poland: the h4tred of the Poles towards the Russians is immense and it is they who have partly influenced the western part of Ukraine, this h4tred is historical, since Poland and Russia have had multiple w4rs for several centuries, even the Poles invaded Moscow at some point and were driven out by the Russians (look for the monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow's Red Square). Now if you add this historical h4tred towards Russia with Neo-Naz1 elements (in western Ukraine) that by default relate Russia to the greatest enemy of the Naz1s, that is, the Soviets, who ended up destroying their beloved H1tler, you will have a gigantic anti-Russian national1sm, which the United States has been able to use as a geopolit1cal tool against the Russ1ans. On the current crisis: The people of Donbass are ethnic Russians and they did not support the 2014 coup, as those who took control of Kiev (with US backing) are openly xenophob1c against the Russians, they even banned the Russian language in Ukraine, which is the native language of the people living in Donbass. Ethnic Russians have lived in Donbass for several centuries, so at the moment they are defending their families and the lands where they have lived for many generations. People living in Donbass voted in a referendum to gain more autonomy and stay inside Ukraine, the latter being important as it shows that the Western narrative that the Donbass conflict was started by "pro-Russian separat1sts" is not is so true and this was part of the typical western pr0paganda to confuse the world about reality and adapt everything to the western narrative of "it's Russia's fault", I repeat "the people of Donbass did not vote for independence from Ukraine and/or to join Russia, they voted to have more autonomy within Ukraine", in fact this is the basis of the famous Minsk agreements that Kiev and the West refuse to implement (accusing Russia of not complying with them, when Russia does not has obligations in the agreement), and it has to be repeated that the people of Donbass wanted this because they simply never accepted the 2014 coup, which brought to power people who h4te ethnic Russians. The Ukrainian army launched an 4ttack on these regions in 2014, moving its entire 4rsenal against the civilians of Donbass, this topic is important since the w4r takes place in the lands of Donbass, therefore civilian v1ctims are always the civilians who live in the Donbass (usually the Western media always interviews Ukrainian civilians living in regions that do not suff3r the real consequences of these w4rs), the people of Donbass won practically all the b4ttles, there were a lot of material on youtube about these b4ttles, where they showed civilians f1ghting aga1nst the Ukrainian army, but youtube has cens0red almost everything. These victories should not really surprise us too much, since the people of Donbass were defend1ng their homes against people who h4te Russians (their ethn1city), any of us would fight with full force if you see that your family is thre4tened by crazy rac1sts that h4te your friends and family, today after all the 4ttacks they have received by Kiev, if they hold a new referendum it is very sure that they will vote to join Russia, they have already seen the true face of the Westerners and of those they control Kiev today. It is interesting that the West always supports autonomies when they are initiated within en3my nations: H0ng K0ng in Ch1na, the K*rds in Syr1a, K0s0vo in Serb1a, Ch3chny4 in Russ1a and a long list. It is true that Russ1a supports those Russ1ans who live in Donbass, in fact it has more right to do so than the illegal military presence of the Y4nkees in northern Syr1a ("support1ng" the K*rds and steal1ng Syrian oil along the way), the inhabitants from Donbass are ethn1c Russ1ans, they are in lands close to the Russ1an border (secur1ty issue), they have an obvious connection with Russ1an culture and above all they share many family members with Russ1ans, for this reason after 2014 many residents of Donbass have obtained a Russian p4ssport (Russian citizensh1p). Possible w4r: If a w4r breaks out between Russ1a and Ukra1ne, it will be when K1ev attacks the Russ1ans living in D0nbass, because Russ1a has said for years that it will intervene with the Russian 4rmy to protect its citizens in any part of the world, including the D0nbass region, some believe that Russia will r0ot out the pr0blem, even reaching K1ev to cle4n up the g0vernment house that is under US c0ntrol. The US n4rrative about a possible Russian 1nvas1on of Ukra1ne is based on this last point, because the Y4nkees know very well that a provocation from K1ev is enough for Russ1a to 1ntervene and the Western med1a will have "pr0of" of the alleged 4ggress1on against the "peaceful" K1ev. The western n4rr4t1ve has always been based on l1es, they are heirs to the Br1t1sh emp1re, experts in this type of str4tegy: ly1ng, caus1ng d1vis1on and succeed1ng. The objectives of the Un1ted States: Everything written above explains some symptoms, but not the real cause of the confl1ct and the main objective. As everyone knows, the United States became the hegemon1c world power when Europe was totally destroyed in the Sec0nd W0rld W4r, destruct1on that also extended in Asia, China was the second nation to suffer more hum4n l0sses after the Sov1et Un1on. Therefore today, in a world where Ch1na has managed to 0vertake the United States in terms of GDP-PPP, becoming the first und1sputed w0rld p0wer in economic terms, the United States has no other alternative than to resort to w4r in order to ret4ke the hegem0ny that has been l0sing, a new c0ld w4r is necessary to d3str0y Russia economically and gain full c0ntrol of Western Europe (in ec0nomic and p0litical terms), this will help to c0nfr0nt Ch1na (the Western med1a is already mention1ng Ch1na in this European confl1ct). You have doubts? Just look at what N$TO's first secretary general, Lord Ismay, said, explaining NATO's goal: "to keep the USA in, the Russ1ans out, and the Germ4ns d0wn." The US is the one who needs this w4r, that's why the western med1a controlled by the western el1te push this w4r, the Ukrain1ans are just a che4p t0ol for the westerners. Now we must write using numbers to avoid western c3ns0rsh1p, long live fr33 w3stern express1on haha.
@@Gurkha73able Slava Cocainu! 🐑
I also find the fact that volunteers were kinda left to their own devices understandable. The UA could barely keep tabs on their own guys. In that sort of situation you need to show initiative and establish a chain of command amongst yourselves until told otherwise.
Here here. Operating on commands from the very top and not being able to work as a cohesive group down at the bottom of the ranks is a Russian thing. Ukrainian troops have been trained by US, UK and other Western armies to be able to work independently in smaller units so they actually know what to do so now they would expect volunteers to be able to do the same now.
At least the Brits took the option to leave. The poor kids in Russia were lied to out the wazzoo about everything. Not given training, weapons, proper armor or helmets (got WW2 helmets). Many got no food and some that did found the rations 7 years beyond expiration. The Russian soldiers taken prisoner tell a very similar story except worse. I wonder why the 10,000 Syrian volunteers, "experts" in house to house warfare, haven't shown up. I've heard a couple stories they started asking questions and re-thinking the deal. Then decided to stay in Syria.The link here makes you wonder if that's how Putin treats the "elite" Russian soldiers, then how are "lesser quality" units treated? kzhead.info/sun/mtmDhM5-iGuEfaM/bejne.html
I can't agreed more. Volunteers in wars are often like that, start in small groups until you meet up with others by chance. Improvise, adapt, overcome. But these kids thought otherwise.
@@daneaxe6465 you seem to have a very skewed view on the war. Russian regular infantry is almost entirely outfitted by the Ratnik program but the Separatists from Donetsk are the ones who have such random gear including school backpacks and Ghorka gear. Also POV interviews should be disregarded. You don't know how these statements came to be and it's also against the Geneva convention
Well, you’re talking about a foreign legion that didn’t even exist a few months ago. You can’t just put something like that together overnight. So, of course, it will be disorganized in the beginning. Experienced combat soldiers will be able to act on their own initiative and piece it together pretty quickly but these greenhorns that don’t know anything will probably find it a bit overwhelming.
I baffles me that these brave dudes didn't think to do a little research before going overseas and risking their lives. If they had, it would have been obvious that they volunteered for the wrong side.
That 18 year old bottled it once the bullets and bombs started flying
Honestly it sounds like Ben just wanted to go for a few weeks, coming back and get seen as a war hero, not going there to help the actual people there, he had no military experience and had unrealistic expectations of a modern day war. They seem to have been expecting this war to be clean without any issues in one of the first proper modern wars between two "western" countries and one of the first that had a volunteer turnout the size of this one and expected it to be 100% organized 100% of the time as if they were serving for NATO or even a mainly english speaking country.
probably thought he could cause he sat on call of duty for couple years
It was 0% organised for the volunteers, and 5% organised for the Ukrainian Guard reserve troops - both of whom have been sent right into the meat-grinder... Very different story for their regular and elite Azov units of course.
@@mcomeadow 0% is extremely wrong considering they set up an entire application process to join, people to get you set up with weapons and equipment etc. and 5% for the territorial defence is defiantly wrong considering they got split into many different battalions and sent to different areas of the country and have been very successful in retaking/defending land
When you confuse a video game with reality...
Exactly...
This was a year ago. Wonder if he went back and if he’s still alive.
These people should not be returned to the UK and any injuries sustained we should not have to treat them. It's not our fight as UK citizens. We told anyone who wanted to go to war with IS and so it should apply to this as well.
Fighting against a very organised and equipped Russian army is very different to that of peasants in Afghanistan or Iraq. Those with military experience were very naive to of expected it to be like a walk in the park!
Lol it just goes to show they never fought a real war since desert storm
@@lyntoncampbell1425 они и в Ираке не встречались с опытным и сильным противником
There is no desseert strom it was a civilans take arms revenge for peoples vs oil take over gov military
Hahaahaha,a very well organized army,lol please dont make laugh. An army that lacks even food it's not a well organized army.
@@jacopomontechristo7572 do you believe the media? such naive people also went there. lucky those who managed to return.
"Ukraine War: The Brits whose dad's never showed them love travel to Ukraine to fight in war."
💯
That statement makes no sense
@@mikeyKnows_ You must be one of them.
God bless the veterans of the wars for the past 100 years
Call of duty real life version hits different
As an ex soldier WTF did you expect armoured cars and a body guard.. But your are brave, a hero to the Ukrainian people and can hold your head high as doing more than the right thing.. You need to interview the Ukrainian to see if this guy is actually telling the apsolute truth.. Maybe 3 month no pay 3 years full pay..
100%
He was hoping for a PS 2 game War LOL but good wake up for a young guy like that
It's illegal and quite possibly extremely stupid to get involved in a political situation that you know nothing about.
Exacally 👍
‼️‼️‼️‼️
this video should be titled "man shocked when you can't respawn"
Veterans against insurgents comprised of farmers does not equate to coming up against a state military. That's the mistake these 'volunteers' make.
I understand that war is ugly and does not come with a guarantee, but, I understand where these two gentlemen are coming from. If they planned on staying for 3 months but are given 3 year contracts, that’s not what they signed up for. And taking their passports seems extreme. What if their passports are lost by the Ukrainians and they can’t leave the country because they don’t have a passport. Also, it seems like the foreign fighters were not treated very well. Being sent to the front line with no military experience, when they could easily be just as effective as a supply driver. It almost seems like they were treated as cannon fodder. I can’t blame them; who would want to stay under those conditions. And I don’t think anyone who’s never served has the right to criticize. I’m sure many of us are writing these comments from the comfort of our homes. At least these guys set out to try and make a difference. That’s more than a lot of us have done.
BEN NEEDS A GOOD MEAL DOWN HIM LEAVE THE FIGHTING TO THE BIG BOYS GLORY TO RUSSIA CHECHNYA FROM UK ZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZ
The kid was warned not to join without military experience. He would have been much more useful in a logistics role.
or just volunteering to help Ukrainian refugees.
Thankfully many have done that anyway. Like he said, he switched over to the humanitarian side instead.
Is a f ... w....k
...or peeling potatoes?
even with military experience, there is nothing you can do against cruise missiles
The wise live longer than the brave and the coward lives longer than them all.
"Dying senselessly " lol that all wars.
1:03 they still haven't realised that this is a Ukrainian 9K35 Strela air defence unit, NOT Russian.
They know. But no one cancelled propaganda just yet.
the bald guy said "I did only 25% of what I wanted to do" he didn't cross off the list doing a keg stand, posing with a killed Russian soldier for Instagram, capturing a Russian tank and livestreaming himself while driving it.
@AR PUTIN On A Show!
It's difficult being a ginge
Trust me use to be navy . I heard he was kicked out the navy ..yea he is ex military but never toured before .
with the "heart of eur0pe" talk i think he's an ide0logical f*sclst to be honest. reminds me of what the swedish n*zi said in that TIME video about "inside far right militi4 in ukralne"
Will they also be arrested and interrogated as everyone else who wants to leave the UK to fight abroad? Is it even allowed?
This Japanese saying couldn't be more accurate "It's better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in war"
At 1:03 it's a Ukrainian armored vehicle driving over a car (probably lost control). Channel 4 is unfortunately still insinuating that it was Russian and that it was done on purpose.
From all the information I’d studied why would a young man want to help troops with Nazi ties ??
Only Russia act like Nazis
@@Rena-ol7dn no Russia is not nazi
As Albert Einstein said. Genius has its limits. Stupidly has no limits.
Why anybody would leave there country to go volunteer fight in somebody else’s war that has nothing to do with their country is beyond me and incredibly stupid
Nazism is global, and you are just ignorant of it.
What training did you get in the navy as an engineer would help you as an infanteer in a war against a professional army
Playing 3 card Brag in the canteen ??
With a population of 43 million there should be no reason for foreign fighters going, just give them the equipment they need and they can fight.
Man, these "mercenaries"... I was owed training, weapons, intel, food, and good times. But all I got were mortars to the face. Whaaaaaaaaaa 😭😭😭
You merited the worst !
haahhahaahahahhaahahahahahha
"150 of us decided to leave and 10 hours after that the base got hit by 30 cruise missiles" .
Set up
Giving away their locations using the internet
When social media means more to you than your life.
That's how ridiculous people under 40 have become.