TURNCOAT TROOPS
Traitor Brits fighting for PUTIN in Ukraine branded ‘an absolute disgrace’ amid calls for them to be jailed
Shocking footage shows Stimson brandishing a grenade and taunting British viewers
TWO traitorous Brits have been branded an "absolute disgrace" for proudly fighting against Ukraine for Vladimir Putin's brutal army.
A former British Army Colonel has demanded the pair be jailed - and they could face prison time if they ever return to the UK.
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Ben Stimson, 48, from Oldham, has shared videos online from the grim frontline where Ukrainian soldiers are giving up their lives to rid their country of Russian invaders.
Brazenly flaunting his Russian military gear in one clip, Stimson waves around the Kremlin's flag and gloats: "Yes, yes, I'm back in Russia. I'm back in uniform."
He even produces an unexploded grenade, taken from a captured Ukrainian stockpile, taunting that he's holding "British taxpayer returns".
In one he says: "Every man takes his choice… a lot of us, the foreign volunteers, have chosen to come over to this side, to the Russian side."
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His furious dad last night said he had disowned his embarrassment of a son.
Stimson, who has previously been convicted for terrorism after helping pro-Russian separatists, is not the only Brit fighting for Putin's ruthless thugs.
His “best British friend in the Russian army” is convicted felon Aiden Minnis from Chippenham.
A former National Front member who was jailed for a racist attack, he told the Mirror he is also now a “sapper in the Russian army”.
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These two are an absolute disgrace and are traitors who upon their return to the UK should be arrested and jailed
Former Colonel Richard Kemp
Minnis and Stimson are the first known Brits to make the shameful choice to fight for Russia.
But many others from the UK have made the decision to fight for the Ukrainian side - which the British government is supporting with billions of pounds worth of arms, ammunition and training.
And some have died at the hands of Putin's brutal forces, while others were captured and tortured for days on end.
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Speaking about Minnis and Stimson, former British Army commander Colonel Richard Kemp fumed: “These two are an absolute disgrace and are traitors who, upon their return to the UK, should be arrested and jailed.”
He added: “These two traitors clearly don’t know who the enemy is.”
In a sickening post, Stimson shared footage from the frontline of troops ploughing over mud, past dead bodies and land mines before digging up a hand grenade.
The pair have also shared pictures from Donetsk on Russian social media brandishing heavy-duty weapons and wearing Russian uniforms.
Stimson was previously banged up on terrorism charges for helping Russian extremists in their campaign of hate against Ukraine in Donbas in 2015.
At the time, he told friends he was going to eastern Ukraine to drive an ambulance, but later admitted he had become a "soldier of the new Russia" after being brainwashed by propaganda online.
The sicko even said he was prepared to kill brave Ukrainians on the frontline as "an act of war".
Cops pounced on him as he arrived back home and was jailed for over five years and four months for terror offences in 2017.
But after being released, he fled back to occupied Donetsk via Moscow to re-join Russian forces in February, brazenly flaunting his efforts for Putin's army online.
The convicted criminal even flogged his last possessions to fund the visa and flight.
These two traitors clearly don’t know who the enemy is
Former Colonel Richard Kemp
Before leaving he posted: “I’m ready to go now, bags packed. I just hope the British police don’t arrest me and make something up or twist things to incriminate me on something that does not exist.”
When he arrived at Manchester Airport cops again detained him and questioned him under the Terrorism Act.
But Stimson was still allowed to fly to Moscow.
While police confiscated his phone and laptop, Stimson posted a picture of two USB drives with the caption: “Didn’t find these did you? You stupid thick b******s."
His father, Martin, 76, a Morris dancer and former town councillor, said he supported his son during a 2017 court hearing, but has now completely "cut him off".
The shame of watching his son fight for tyrant Putin was too much.
He said: “I’ve cut him off. Before I cut him off he was in Moscow.
"I’ve been looking after Ben on and off for years and years. He’s on his own now. He’s 48 now, he can do what he wants.
“He’s been a constant worry. I want a bit of peace at my age. You never know what he’ll do next.”
Minnis, from Ireland, described his choice to join the Russian army as "an ideological thing".
A former drug addict with a lengthy rap sheet, he was jailed in 2008 for an unprovoked racist attack on a rugby player. Earlier in the year, he beat up a homeless man.
His lawyer told a British court: "He was a member of the National Front, a class A drug addict and an alcoholic by the age of 20".
The thug dubbed himself a “Z Patriot” and thinks Putin is “still the greatest politician on earth”.
Both British mercenaries are likely to face jail if they ever return to the UK, and Stimson's temporary visa expires in mid May.
He is based in the Pyatnashka brigade, an international militia that fights Ukrainian soldiers with Russia in Donetsk.
The Foreign Enlistment Act makes it illegal for Brits to join armies in countries who are in conflict with Britain.
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But it is more likely that anti-terror laws will be used against the men as they were with Stimson in 2015.
Stimson has shot back at the anger of him fighting for Ukraine, moaning in an online statement that "a soldier is a soldier the whole world over" and failing to acknowledge his shameful actions.
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