A British man who travelled to Ukraine to fight has claimed he helped arrest a Russian spy and that he was held at gunpoint by special forces.
Ethan Dennis, 21, who says he served in the Royal Navy, signed up on March 2.
Ethan, from Portsmouth, says he tried to go to the Ukrainian embassy but took matters into his own hands when he got fed up with the red tape.
He took a flight to Rzesz in south Poland before crossing the border into Ukraine with other ex-military Brits he met at the airport.
After 10 days of fighting, he is now back in the UK.
He said: "Having seen this brutal conflict firsthand, I hope that a deal between Russia and Ukraine is reached sooner rather than later - for everyone's benefit."
Ethan says, upon arriving in Ukraine, the soldiers were bundled into the back of a van and driven to Lviv where they collected their gear and were assigned to a safe house.
After three days in the house, the group were surrounded by a Ukrainian special forces team, who'd been informed by a local of their position.
Ethan said: "At the safe house we were treated really well with comfy beds and good food.
"But we believe a civilian informed the Ukrainians about our foreign uniforms which raised suspicion amongst the higher ranks.
"The team burst through the door and told us to put our hands on our head whilst they checked our documents and verified our stories.
"One of our squad even had a gun put to his head when he refused to follow one of their instructions.
"They had their safety [mechanism] off and their fingers on the triggers - it was an intense moment for us.
"Once they realised we were there to help they left us alone."
Ethan and his buddies decided to take a train to Kyiv after they didn't see enough action in Lviv.
He claims that on their journey they helped police detain a suspicious man, who after being checked, was found to be making frequent calls to Russia.
The suspected spy was arrested and taken to a detention centre for further questioning - and Ethan carried on his journey.
When they arrived in Kyiv, he says dozens of families sleeping in the tube station stood up to applaud them.
The squad were then driven to an undisclosable location where they were then briefed by an ex-major on conducting covert operations on the front line - just outside the city.
He said: "We were thrown right into the action and sent to guard a position just outside Kyiv which was a key asset in the Ukrainian war effort."
In the 10 days he spent in Ukraine, Ethan says he experienced missile strikes, mortar bombs and intense combat with Russian forces.
Thankfully, none of his British comrades was injured or killed during his spell on the front line - but several Ukrainian soldiers were not so lucky, he said.
Ethan, who says served in the military for four years as an engineer, added: "Sometimes the Russians were so scared in contact they weren't even able to get rounds away.
"There was an obvious lack of training amongst them and a lack of motivation to be there - which we used to our advantage.
"The fighting was intense and very scary at points, but I just remembered all my training and tried to take calculated risks.
"It was when the objectives we were being given became too high risk and too little reward that I decided I'd had enough.
"Luckily I had signed an open contract with the major so he had no problem with me returning home."
Ethan boarded a refugee train out of the capital and back to Lviv after his spell on the frontline.
He claims he was detained by Ukrainian secret police as he tried to cross into Poland.
Ethan claims he finally managed to persuade the officer in charge to let him go, although throughout the rest of his time in Poland he was closely followed.
He then boarded a flight back to London on March 19.
Ethan, who was working as a carpenter before he flew out, said: "Getting home was really stressful.
"There's always that doubt in your mind something may go wrong and you could be stuck.
"The relief I felt when the plane left that runway is indescribable.
"My girlfriend was overjoyed to see me, and I've been told if I want to go and fight again she won't be there when I get back - so that's my decision made."
