Could British mercenaries get involved in Ukraine war?

Volunteers around the world have offered to join Ukraine’s new foreign legion but Sean O’Grady examines the pitfalls

Tom, 20, and Lucas, 21, arrive to join the Ukrainian armed forces at the countr’s embassy in west London on Tuesday. (PA)

The plight of the Ukrainian people has prompted some overseas individuals to offer to fight for them.

They see that NATO and the west are unable or unwilling to take direct military action and that economic sanctions, though effective, are not bringing immediate relief. They see a nation at war, and its citizens suffering, just like those idealists who joined the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War and fought between 1936 to 1938.

‘Mercenary’ fighters have travelled to join conflicts throughout history. Some would include the likes of Shamima Begum and other Islamist extremists who went to join Isis in Syria and Iraq. There were also British volunteers who fought alongside the Kurds and others against Isis in those lands.