British troops who go AWOL to fight Russia in Ukraine will face court martial, PM says
British troops who travel to Ukraine to fight Russian forces will face court martial on their return to the UK, Boris Johnson has said.
The prime minister was asked about the case of a 19-year-old Coldstream Guard who left his Windsor barracks, apparently with hopes of joining the battle against Russian invading forces.
Responding, during a visit to Merseyside, he said: "I think that everybody seeing what's happening in Ukraine will understand those feelings and I think many people, many people in our armed forces, will sympathise because I don't think I've ever seen such clear distinction in international affairs between right and wrong and good and evil in what President Putin is doing to people in Ukraine.
"But we have very clear laws in this country. You shouldn't go to Ukraine, and I'm afraid people going from our armed services, as the Chief of the Defence Staff made clear the other day, will face court martial."
It follows reports from the Sun newspaper that the teen had left a note for his parents and booked a one-way flight to a country in eastern Europe, which was not identified.
The soldier would be unable to join the Georgian Legion - as other Britons reportedly have - because the organisation which is training foreigners to fight in Ukraine told ITV News it does not accept anyone who is on active duty.
Responding to questions about the 19-year-old, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement: "All service personnel are prohibited from travelling to Ukraine until further notice.
"This applies whether the service person is on leave or not. Personnel travelling to Ukraine will face disciplinary and administrative consequences."
The MoD added it would not comment on specific cases.
All travel to Ukraine is banned under official UK military advice, which states that going to Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the conflict, may be against the law and could lead to prosecution.
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Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was criticised for previously saying she "absolutely" supports Britons who want to fight in Ukraine.
She later withdrew her comments, insisting she had just “expressing support for the Ukrainian cause” and there are "better ways" to help.
But ITV News spoke to two men who have joined the Georgian Legion with hopes of fighting against Russia, and one of them pointed to Ms Truss's comments when asked about his plans.
He said: "Liz - I don't know her second name, the foreign secretary - she says she supports British citizens going over to fight but how they deal with that, the laws could change any day.
"We could wake up tomorrow morning and there could be a terror risk. If that's how the UK see things, we don't know yet. I'm prepared to take any consequences."