A former British soldier captured by Kremlin troops in southern Russia wanted to leave his Ukrainian army unit over safety concerns, the Mail has been told.
James Anderson, 22, was fighting in the strategically important Kursk province of southern Russia last week when his trench was stormed by enemy troops.
After a battle involving grenades he was one of 10 soldiers in the Ukrainian Defence Force arrested as Prisoners of Wars.
A disturbing video recorded by the Russians – in a clear breach of the Geneva Convention – showed the former Royal Corps of Signals soldier tied up and being interrogated.
Now another former UK soldier, who left the same unit just weeks ago, has claimed Ukrainian officers left James and his colleagues exposed.
The former infanteer, called ‘Mike’, said James had wanted to transfer, due to these issues, but felt honour-bound to continue the mission in Kursk.
Thousands of Ukrainian troops, assisted by international volunteers, are holding out in an enclave surrounded by Russian and North Korean soldiers.
James was part of the Ukrainian expeditionary force which invaded Russia in August, stunning the Kremlin and seized almost 1,400 square kilometres of territory.
But despite their efforts Ukraine has lost as much as 40 per cent of that battleground – due to its soldiers being outmanned, outgunned and, according to Mike, poorly equipped.
It is considered essential for Ukraine to retain territory inside Russia as a bargaining chip in peace talks expected next year.
Mike said: ‘There was a lack of drone reconnaissance, so our situational awareness would be compromised. It frustrated James and I, we felt like the commanders weren’t doing enough to protect us.
‘The Russians advance in large numbers and their artillery rains down on us. But we can’t see them coming because we haven’t got ‘eyes on’.
‘Kursk was a risk for Ukraine, strategically. We were disappointed not to have been adequately equipped to hold that ground.
‘James wanted to switch units. But, being him, he felt committed to the unit we were in.’
The British veteran’s warnings about the safety of friendly forces came as Ukraine fired more US ballistic missiles into Kursk.
The use of ATACMs by Kyiv earlier today/yesterday is a defiant move as it follows Russia’s devastating response to its previous salvo.
After Ukraine first fired the US and UK-gifted missiles into southern Russia, the Kremlin significantly upped the ante.
Vladimir Putin’s forces fired a Oreshnik nuclear-capable hypersonic missile into Ukraine – which destroyed a weapons factory in the central city of Dnipro on Thursday.
Today’s strike by Ukraine was its first use of foreign high-grade rockets since Putin’s dramatic escalation of the conflict.
The ATACMs targeted an airfield near Kursk and, according to reports, destroyed a Russian S-400 air defence system, a radar station and two missile launchers.
Wave after wave of Russian counter-assaults have forced Ukrainian units to retreat from areas of Kursk and raised fears Russia could recover the entire enclave in the months ahead.
More than 50,000 Kremlin soldiers have formed up while 10,000 North Koreans are reportedly being trained to enter what could be a decisive battle.
Mike said James was a popular, respected figure within the unit and known for his love of animals, particularly stray dogs and ducks.
He was also committed to improving the welfare of the Ukrainian people. He was no ‘mercenary’ according to Mike.
‘We were waiting a long time for our wages and it is less than minimum wage in the UK,’ he said.
‘We were on £400pcm when behind the frontline, £1,000pcm when we were advanced and we’d get an extra £60 a-day when we were engaged in direct combat.
‘If he wasn’t so committed to the cause James wouldn’t have got captured.
‘He had really proved himself too, despite coming from an attached-arms background rather than an infantry regiment.
‘Because he used to be in the Royal Corps of Signals we used to get him to fix the internet. Otherwise his communications background wasn’t really utilised.
‘Most of the combat is being shelled and most of the soldiering is luck, 80 per cent luck, 20 per cent skill. Nobody knows where it is going to land.
‘We weren’t trained in resistance to interrogation or how to cope with being captured. He appeared very composed in the video though. I don’t think they’ll kill him. He’s a propaganda tool.’
Mike said James had deployed to Ukraine in April, initially joining the country’s international battalion before transferring to its Ukrainian Defence Force.
Frustrating for its British recruits, the Defence Force only received basic military training.
Mike and James’ colleagues were not part of the UK’s Operation Interflex programme which has trained 50,000 Ukrainians in this country.
Mike added that Ukraine has to be ‘realistic’ about what it can achieve both on the battlefield and in post-conflict negotiations.
Tragically, the country is not going to get back the territory illegally seized by Russia, in Mike’s view.
He also questioned the UK’s authorisation for Ukraine to fire British Storm Shadow ballistic missiles into internationally recognised Russian sovereign territory.
He said: ‘I think that was poking the bear, taking territory in Kursk and letting them fire Storm Shadows into Russia. So I am not surprised how Russia has responded.
‘Fighting is not going to win the war on either side. There will have to be talks and Ukraine will have to give up areas such as the Donbas and Crimea..’
James’ grandmother, Jacqueline Payne, 60, yesterday told the Mail ‘he definitely didn’t go for the money’.
‘He was only paid £400 or £800 at a time and he had a well-paid job here in the UK,’ she said.
Mrs Payne, of Banbury, Oxfordshire, went on: ‘His reason for going out there in the first place has always been that he wants to help the Ukrainian people because he has been trained as a soldier in the British Army. That has never changed but he did say he was hoping to go back and train their soldiers rather than continue fighting on the front line.’
