‘JAIL THE TRAITORS’
Ex-Army chiefs slam Brits in Putin’s forces
TWO British ‘traitors’ fighting for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine should face jail if they return to the UK, former Army leaders said last night.
Ben Stimson, 48, and Aiden Minnis, 37, have bragged about volunteering with Russian forces and backing President Putin in social media posts.
Stimson, of Oldham, is a convicted terrorist who was jailed for more than five years for fighting with pro-Russian rebels in 2015, the year after Russia annexed Crimea.
Minnis, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, has also spent time in prison for violence.
The pair, who are in the Donbas region, are the first UK citizens known to be fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
Former Army commander Colonel Richard Kemp said: ‘They are traitors who should be arrested and jailed. They are fighting in an illegal war and should face charges when they return.’
General Sir Richard Barrons, who retired in 2016, said: ‘There must be con
‘It’s the same as fighting for Nazi Germany’
sequences. This is the same as fighting for Nazi Germany in World War II.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘Those who travel to conflict zones to engage in unlawful activity should expect to be investigated upon their return.’
In one video, Stimson said: ‘Every man takes his choice... the foreign volunteers have chosen the Russian side.’
Minnis, who claims Irish heritage, is pictured holding a weapon and wearing a Russian uniform in front of the Irish flag.
He has described Putin as ‘the greatest politician on Earth’. Stimson was released from jail in June. He was detained at Manchester Airport last month and questioned but was allowed to fly to Russia, via Istanbul, on a three-month visa.
It is illegal to join armies in countries in conflict with the UK under the Foreign Enlistment Act. But as the UK is not at war with Russia, terrorism legislation would likely be used for any prosecution.