• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Brit With No Connections To Ukraine Or Military Experience Signs Up To Fight Russia

Home> News

Published 17:32 1 Mar 2022 GMT

Brit With No Connections To Ukraine Or Military Experience Signs Up To Fight Russia

Surrey-based gym owner Leon Dawson is part of a growing number of Brits with no military experience signing up to fight in Ukraine

Tom Sanders

Tom Sanders

A British man with no military experience or Ukrainian connections has volunteered to sign up to help fight the Russian invasion.

Surrey-based gym owner Leon Dawson, along with a select group of friends, are part of a growing number of British volunteers heading off to fight in Ukraine, and say they are willing to die to protect the country from invading Russian forces.

In an interview with Sky News outside the Ukrainian embassy in London yesterday (28 February), Dawson said that “They look like they need help. We're young, strong, fit men - we can help. So, why not?"

Shortly after making contact with the embassy, the 37-year-old quickly began packing for the journey, ready to fly out to Ukraine at a moment’s notice and showing off gear that he says was lent to him by a friend in the Marines, quipping: "He does want it back, so let's hope we make it back alive."

Advert

"I’ve never been to Ukraine, I don’t know anyone who is Ukrainian, I know nothing about Ukraine,” Leon said. “All I know is that they’re being invaded by a bigger, more superior party and they need help.

Leon Dawson.
Sky News

"Women and children are being bombed and killed. If I'm this scared and apprehensive, what are the people over there going through? They must be absolutely terrified."

When asked if his family were aware of his intentions, Leon said: “My family are quite upset. Obviously it is a hard time.”

Leon is just one of the many volunteers who have turned up to the Ukrainian embassy in recent days looking to do their part to assist the Ukrainian war effort.

Advert

It is estimated that there are already hundreds of Brits volunteering to fight Russia with more expected to follow as the conflict continues.

Sky News

Another volunteer, The Guardian reports, is 48-year-old Ukrainian lorry driver Petro Symchych, who claims that volunteering to fight is a 'duty to our homeland'.

Speaking outside the Ukrainian social club in London before heading off in a car full of donated supplies, he insisted he was not scared despite the overwhelming military might of the Russians.

He said: “Sooner or later we all die."

Advert

Symchych claims to have been reassured by defiant video messages posted by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He said: “At the beginning I wasn’t sure we could trust him, but his videos mean we have started to trust him and he’s proved himself by his actions.”

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said yesterday that said she 'won't oppose' British nationals who travel to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion - but her comments were immediately countered by defence secretary Ben Wallace, who urged Brits not to join the fighting, saying that the 'very dangerous' situation could lead to them being killed.

The British Army has warned UK soldiers 'on or off leave' not to try and take up arms against Russia.

Advert

It is believed there are fears the sight of British insignias could spark a major escalation in the conflict.

Meanwhile, lawyers have warned that Britons leaving to fight in Ukraine could face legal action on their return to the UK.

Under the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870, it is illegal for British citizens to fight in a war involving a country that is at peace with the UK.

Featured Image Credit: Sky News
Tom Sanders
Tom Sanders

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

13 mins ago
21 mins ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 13 mins ago

    Woman nearly died after receiving 'new type of botox' in the UK

    She spent days in intensive care

    News
  • 21 mins ago

    Diddy had intense reaction when mixed verdict was read out in court as rapper remains in jail

    The rapper was acquitted of three out of five charges by a New York jury

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Judge rules Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will remain behind bars as bail is denied

    The hip hop producer has been in federal detention since September 2024

    News

    breaking

  • 11 hours ago

    Met Police advice on 'sextortion' after boy, 14, dies after thinking he was flirting with woman online

    The teenager ended his life after being blackmailed over intimate images he'd sent online

    News
  • Woman who grew up in English village with no crime or debt shared her account of living there
  • Brit Who Volunteered To Fight In Ukraine Rejected
  • YouTube Star FPSRussia Responds After Being Asked Whether He'd Fight For Russia Or Ukraine In War
  • Zelenskyy Unwilling To Give Up Eastern Territories Of Ukraine To End War With Russia