A Brit fighting in Ukraine who is back here on a recruiting mission has spoken of how his 13-year-old daughter told him: “Go, Daddy, but make sure you come back.”
And Peter Fouche believes the shock sentences handed to two captured British fighters by Russia this week will prompt more people to join him on the front line – despite the UK Government warning against taking such dangerous action.
Peter flew into Heathrow on Friday after spending three months defending the war-ravaged country.
The 47-year-old, who has daughter Nikola, was working as a construction carpenter near his home in Fulham, west London, when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Speaking minutes after landing at Heathrow, Peter said: “Children were being murdered. It struck a powerful chord with me as a father.
"I told my daughter I was thinking about going, and she said, ‘Go, Daddy, but make sure you come back.’ I love my child so much and I don’t want anyone in the world to go through the pain of losing theirs.”
Peter believes outrage over the execution orders for Shaun, 48, and Aiden, 28, who were this week convicted as mercenaries by a Russian proxy court, could spur other misguided Brits – especially soldiers and veterans – to join the battle.
But the Ministry of Defence has warned serving soldiers that they will be prosecuted if they go AWOL to fight in Ukraine.
And any UK citizen who joins the battle could end up in court here under the Foreign Enlistment Act if they survive to return, because Britain is not technically at war with Russia.
But Peter insists the fate of the two captured Brits has only made international soldiers determined to fight harder, recruit more people and make sure they are never taken alive by Russian troops.
He said: “The worldwide outrage at this [sentence], especially if it’s carried out, will improve the chances of getting more foreigners to fight in eastern Ukraine.
"Nobody wants to see two British soldiers murdered. We have got to reinforce the troops out here. We are not deterred. We are energised.”
Shaun, from Watford, Herts, and Aiden, of Newark, Notts, were captured while fighting with the Ukrainian marines.
They were paraded on Russian TV ahead of a show trial on Thursday.
Peter, who survived a number of ambushes from Russian forces, is planning to return to the front line within days and plans to remain there, despite his daughter’s pleas.
“I’m fighting for freedom, democracy and the right for people to live without fear,” he said.
“Battalions are desperate for instructors and so grateful for foreign support.”
Peter trained as a sniper and medic with his native South Africa’s police special forces 20 years ago.
He has lived in the UK for over two decades and has British citizenship.
In March, he joined a convoy of British volunteers driving to the outskirts of Kyiv. He helped build a hospital before joining Ukraine’s Saint Michael the Archangel battalion.
He spent a month training Ukrainian forces in close-quarters combat and combat medicine. Then he joined an elite unit of fighters around the Donetsk region.
Peter recalled going behind enemy lines to retrieve the bodies and equipment of fallen soldiers – and being forced to take shelter as artillery fire rained down.
His unit was ambushed while staking out an armoured vehicle in Russian-controlled territory, with Peter treating two comrades who took shrapnel to their backs.
On another occasion, they were fired at while trying to change a tyre on a crater-holed road in darkness.
“The first time it’s hell on earth – you are petrified to the bone,” said Peter.
“After that, you go into survival mode. We have been in situations no man should walk out of. I’ve had two close friends in hospital. Several have been lost in our battalion.
“I’m very strongly connected to God. Every time the artillery came, I prayed.”
Peter’s unit was near Kharkiv when they heard of Aiden and Shaun’s respective captures in April.
He recalled: “Several British colleagues out there were very upset and angry about it, but it didn’t change our morale.”
Both the British Government and Ukraine’s top prosecutor have said the death sentences breach the Geneva Conventions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to do everything in their power to secure their release.
And Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has spoken with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on efforts to secure the release of PoWs.
Relatives say Aiden and Shaun, who both lived in Ukraine and have Ukrainian partners, need urgent access to medical and legal help.
They and a captured Moroccan fighter have been given a month to appeal against their sentences.
Another British volunteer, Macer Gifford, who is friends with Aiden, backed calls for the UK Government to secure their release.
He said: “They should take this incredibly seriously. This is an affront to our very country.”
Macer, 35, a former currency trader from Cambridge, is taking a brief break after spending six weeks training 1,500 Ukrainian troops in tactical, combat and casualty care – but plans to return within a month.
He said: “Aiden is a good guy, a lovely person, a genuine guy – someone who cares.
“There’s a sense of grim determination amongst fighters now. What’s happened will not deter us from fighting – only from surrendering.”
