SAS veterans ‘training Russians to fight in Ukraine’

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An assessment found with “strong confidence” that Western military veterans had been recruited to train Russian citizens as well as “active duty personnel”, according to Five Eyes intelligence agencies.

Former intelligence operatives were allegedly approached to become instructors at the camps in Bulgaria and Serbia which reportedly hosted Russian clients, the Telegraph reported.

Instructors from “a range of backgrounds” are allegedly being recruited for a combat camp in Bulgaria, including the SAS, the Australian Commando Regiment, US Navy SEALs and US police forces, according to a memo obtained by the newspaper.

The combat camp, which is run by Alfa-Metal, a military training company, in Mejdeni, northern Bulgaria, offers special forces training and advanced sniper courses for roughly €4,000 (£3,400) per person.

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The courses target prospective members of private military companies, bodyguards and corporate security teams.

But according to the memo, since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, private training camps across Europe have continued to permit Russian citizens to join the courses for training, including “advanced close-quarters combat”.

The veterans alleged that the camp continued to train Russians as of 2025, three years after Putin’s invasion, the paper reported.

The company posted a job advert for SAS veterans on LinkedIn, claiming it was looking for a “UK citizen” with “a strong operational background and proven instructional experience”.

“We’re currently looking for an experienced SAS instructor to join our team,” it wrote.

“If you’re passionate about training, professionalism, and raising standards, we’d love to hear from you.”

This comes as Russia faces an increasingly challenging manpower crisis. In July, it was revealed that Russian soldiers live on average for 20 to 35 minutes on the frontline with Ukraine amid rising numbers of fatal drone attacks, according to a Russian military blogger’s estimate.

The estimate, which was referenced by Oxford historian Peter Frankopan in a Foreign Policy report, highlights the increasingly lethal conditions for Russian troops as Ukraine continues to improve its drone technology.

Russia has been accused of using a “meat-grinder” approach to warfare – in which it sends huge numbers of soldiers to the frontline in efforts to slowly wear down Ukrainian defences.

But the increasing capacities of Ukrainian drone warfare mean that Russia is haemorrhaging troops at a rapid pace, with an average of 30,000 monthly casualties in 2026.

By some estimates, eight Russian soldiers are killed or injured for every one Ukrainian.

In May, British intelligence (GCHQ) confirmed that almost 500,000 Russian troops have been killed since Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Mr Frankopan wrote: “According to Russian military bloggers, the average life expectancy of a new recruit—from arrival at a training ground to death in a combat zone—lies somewhere between 10 days and three weeks.”

“Once they are sent onto the battlefield, Russian fighters survive an average of 20 to 35 minutes.”

Russia’s reliance on heavy artillery near the frontline has also been made more difficult due to drone attacks, meaning the military is now leaning more on infiltration strategies.

This sees Ukrainian soldiers carrying out small operations against weak parts of the Ukrainian frontline.

In early 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that over 80 per cent of Russian targets are destroyed by Ukrainian drones, the majority of which are domestically produced.

Ukraine has also strengthened its longer-range strikes on Russian refineries, depots and supply routes over the past few months, learning to overwhelm Russia’s defences with increasingly modern drone warfare.

These attacks have resulted in crippling shortages across Russia, from occupied Crimea to Siberia, improving Ukraine’s negotiating power as peace talks look to be on the horizon.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, in 2022 Kyiv had the ability to hit targets some 630km away.

As of this year, it claims its long-range weapons are destroying targets “at about a distance of 1,750km”.