A former British sniper who joined the fight in Ukraine against Russian invaders says President Volodymyr Zelenzky’s forces are defending their country like the “Taliban on steroids”.
Shane Matthews, a retired Lance Corporal with the 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment, travelled to Kyiv and is currently helping to fortify the capital against Vladimir Putin ’s advancing troops.
Despite their military power, the Russian army has so far failed to achieve its key objective of toppling the city, according to the Mirror.
Shane, who completed who fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan, told MailOnline he believes Ukrainian forces will prevent Kyiv falling to attackers.
He said: “The Ukrainian artillery absolutely hammered the Russians while I was giving one of my medical lessons.
Despite their military superiority Russia has so far failed to take the capital - one of the Russian army’s key objectives.
Shane Matthews, who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, told MailOnline he does not believe Kyiv will fall to the invaders.
He said: “The Ukrainian artillery absolutely hammered the Russians while I was giving one of my medical lessons.
“Apparently the Russians have got no defensive positions in Irpin so the Ukrainian boys are absolutely hammering them, which is good news.
“The guerrilla-style tactics being employed by the Ukrainians is something you simply cannot defend against, it’s like the Taliban on steroids.”
Mr Matthews flew out to Poland before being given lifts to the capital so he could help the Ukrainians prepare for the brutal invaders.
Last week Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said both serving soldiers and veterans should not fly out to join the fight against Russia.
He said: “No good comes from British service people or veterans going to Ukraine to be a part of this."
The former Army officer added the British public, especially servicemen and women who have a "deep sense of wanting to be doing the right thing", need to know what is going on behind the scenes.
He added: "They need to know there is a lot of people in the Royal Air Force flying a lot of important stuff, not just from the UK but from other European partners forward.
"There are British soldiers in other European countries, mostly Poland, where that stuff (resources) is being received and then what happens next is not for public consumption.
“The might of the Russian army is still up against them (Ukraine). They have overwhelming force at their disposal.
"That overwhelming force, unfortunately, looks pretty indiscriminate, we are going to see some brutal things on our TV screens in the days ahead.
"But the torch has been lit for the Ukrainian people and it burns brightly. I am confident that they will now resist for as long as they can in a force-on-force military setting.”
His comments came after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she would “support” Brits joining the war effort.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
