- This story is developing, more to follow
Russia has jailed a former British soldier to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony after he was caught fighting for Ukraine.
The supreme court in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, currently occupied by Russia, found Hayden Davies guilty of having participated as a mercenary in an armed conflict, Russian prosecutors said in a statement.
Mr. Davies, a 31-year-old from Southampton, was captured by Russian forces in Teretsk, Donetsk, last year.
Prosecutors said Mr. Davies travelled to Ukraine in 2024, where he received training before fighting against Russian forces before being captured at the end of the year.
He told the court via a translator that he came to Ukraine via Poland and that he was paid just £370 a month to fight.
Earlier this year, Mr. Davies, who is said to have done tours of Germany, Cyprus, Canada and Afghanistan, was apparently paraded around by his captors for a propaganda video.
He was seen wearing a camouflage-patterned military shirt and looks dishevelled with a scraggly beard.
In the video, he claims that he previously served with the Royal Regiment of Scotland but was kicked out in 2023 for ‘smoking marijuana’.
A former British army soldier who was believed to have been killed fighting for Ukraine is alive after he appeared in a Russian propaganda video
The supreme courtin Ukraine’s Donetsk region, currently occupied by Russia, found Hayden Davies (pictured) guilty of having participated as a mercenary in an armed conflict
In the heavily-edited footage, in which he appears to be coerced into speaking, he says he decided to fight for Ukraine after his career in the British army ended.
He then goes on to criticise Ukrainian commanders and even claims his life was saved by a Russian soldier on the battlefield.
‘Obviously with the International Legion, you sign a contract and you’re brainwashed into thinking that you’re in the right,’ Mr Davies states, apparently speaking to a person behind the camera.
He complains about receiving no proper training because there were ‘no heavy guns’ to use for drills.
Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, several foreign citizens have been sentenced by Russia-installed courts in eastern Ukrainian regions controlled partially or in whole by Moscow.
In early December, a Czech was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a court in Lugansk and in November, two Colombians received the same sentence in a Donetsk court.
The Daily Mail has contacted Downing Street and the UK’s foreign office for comment.
More to follow.
