London, (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Confirmed by the BBC, a source from the Army has said that a 19-year-old from the Coldstream Guards left his barracks in Windsor and bought a ticket to Poland at the weekend.
The soldier, who went absent without leave, may be trying to get to Ukraine. Although the Ministry of Defence has not confirmed this report, a spokesperson did confirm that all service personnel are banned from travelling to Ukraine until further notice, adding “this applies whether the service person is on leave or not. Personnel travelling to Ukraine will face disciplinary and administrative consequences.”
There have been concerns from senior UK military officers that some British troops may try and join the battle in Ukraine, compounded by the fact that hundreds of former British soldiers have said that they want to go to Ukraine to help fight or give medical or humanitarian aid.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a televised interview that she backed individuals who went to Ukraine to help the fight, although the government later clarified its position and the Foreign Office advised against all travel. Despite the MoD suggesting that going to Ukraine to help in the fighting may be illegal, it stressed that you could support the Ukrainian people in a variety of ways, including through charitable donations.
On Wednesday, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary said, “You cannot go and fight if you’re in the British Army, you cannot just get up and go and fight. Of course, that’s inappropriate behaviour and you would expect the Army to have some very, very strict rules in place, as they do.” It has repeatedly been said by the UK that British troops will not be sent to fight in Ukraine, and the West has also clearly stated that it would not directly engage in military confrontation.