Ethan Dennis from Portsmouth flew to Rzesz in Poland, then crossed the border into the war-torn country with other Britons he met at the airport. The 21-year-old is now back in the UK after 10 days of fighting.
He says that upon arrival in Ukraine, the “soldiers” were bundled into a van and driven to Lviv where they collected their equipment and were assigned to a shelter.
After three days, the group was surrounded by a Ukrainian special forces team who had been informed by a local of their position.
Ethan said: “At the shelter we were treated very well with comfortable beds and good food.
“But we believe that a civilian informed the Ukrainians about our foreign uniforms, which raised suspicions among senior officers.
“The team burst through the door and told us to put our hands on our heads while they checked our documents and checked our stories.
“One of our squads even had a gun put to his head when he refused to follow any of their instructions.
“They had their security [mechanism] off and their fingers on the triggers. It was an intense moment for us.
“Once they realized we were there to help, they left us alone.”
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The team was then taken to a secret location where they were briefed by a former major on how to conduct covert operations on the front line.
He said: “We were thrown straight into action and sent to guard a position just outside kyiv, which was a key asset in the Ukrainian war effort.”
During the 10 days he was in Ukraine, Ethan says he endured missile strikes, mortar rounds and heavy fighting against Russian forces.
Ethan, who says he served as an engineer in the army for four years, added: “Sometimes the Russians were so scared on contact that they weren’t even able to run away.
“There was a clear lack of training among them and a lack of motivation to be there – which we used to our advantage.
“The fights were intense and very scary at times, but I just remembered all my training and tried to take calculated risks.
“It was when the goals assigned to us became too risky and too unrewarding that I decided I had had enough.”
He claims to have been arrested by Ukrainian secret police as he tried to cross the Polish border.
Ethan went on to say that he managed to persuade the officer in charge to let him go, but for the rest of his time in Poland he was closely followed.
He flew to London on March 19.
Ethan told the Mirror: ‘The relief I felt when the plane left that runway is indescribable.
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-23 22:41:21
