British military during an exercise. File photoLONDON, Mar 10Several British soldiers went AWOL and may have gone to Ukraine, a spokesman for the British Armed Forces told Sky News.
"We are aware of a small number of soldiers , who disobeyed orders and were absent without permission, and may have traveled to Ukraine in their personal capacity. We actively and strongly urge them to return to the UK", he said.
At the same time, he pointed out that the military is forbidden to travel to Ukraine, otherwise they will face disciplinary and administrative consequences. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine 24 February. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. In response, Western countries have imposed another anti-Russian sanctions since 2014. As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said earlier, the Western sanctions are very serious, Russia was preparing for them in advance. He added that they require analysis and coordination of departments in order to develop response measures that are in the interests of the Russian Federation. with chemical weapons