Former solider shares harrowing video of attacks in the Ukraine
A former soldier from Chichester who has travelled to the Ukraine to help its forces against the Russian invasion of their country has been sharing his experiences.
Determined Shane Matthew came out of retirement to travel to Ukraine and has so far helped to train more than 500 Ukrainians, who are ‘fighting like the Taliban on steroids’ to resist Vladimr Putin’s bogged-down Russian invasion force.
Shane, who completed multiple tours of Afghanistan and Iraq as a Lance Corporal with the 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, has been dodging artillery strikes to deliver tactical and medical training to Ukrainian volunteers.
Speaking from the bombed town of Irpin, just north of Kyiv, the 34-year-old veteran from Chichester who also volunteers at Crimsham
Farm in Bognor Regis, said: “The Russians moved a huge convoy into place last night for an attack, it was obliterated, according to intelligence here, it was the last combat-ready group in the area so we should see Ukrainian forces pushing them back to the border soon. All-round winning for the Ukrainians.”
Russian forces continue to ‘rain down’ artillery and missiles on Ukraine’s besieged cities ‘indiscriminately’ as the war enters its third week.
The former sniper has also shared harrowing footage as
he dived for cover to avoid a barrage, which destroyed a building he had been sheltering in just hours before the strike.
The video recording shows Shane and a Ukrainian sprinting into a garage as large explosions can be heard ripping up the streets around him.
“We’ve had to completely hunker down because the artillery is being walked in to us – we got showered with shrapnel when we went out to pick up some gear,” he said, while smoking a cigarette and
wearing a helmet.
As previously reported, Shane shared photos of the aftermath of the attack, which levelled a bridge and destroyed a church and school.
Despite the danger, Shane continues to deliver training to Ukrainian forces, showing volunteer fighters how to move tactically through the streets and treat major bleeds,
burns and gunshot wounds.
He said: “I have trained 540 people in four days. It’s been exhausting.
“I actually managed to collapse yesterday and was confined to my bed by the doc due to not stopping.
“The lads are amazing, they graft, they are keen to learn and they always ask loads of questions.”