SAS Veterans Suspected of Training Russian Soldiers for War in Ukraine — The Telegraph

Veterans of the British Special Air Service (SAS) are suspected of training Russian servicemen to participate in the war against Ukraine.

This is stated in a leaked classified intelligence memo obtained by The Telegraph.

The document, prepared for the intelligence services of the Five Eyes alliance, indicates with a high degree of credibility that Western military veterans are being recruited to train Russian civilians and active-duty Russian military personnel.

According to materials prepared for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), the training took place at private company Alfa-Metal’s training camps in Bulgaria and Serbia.

At the camp in the village of Mejdeni in northern Bulgaria, instructors include veterans of the SAS, the Australian Commando Regiment, the U.S. Navy, and U.S. police units.

The center offers special operations and sniper courses for €4,000 per person, targeting prospective private military contractors, bodyguards, and corporate security personnel.

Witnesses note that since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the camp has continued to train Russians in close-quarters battle.

Russian military personnel may have turned to private European training camps due to a severe shortage of their own instructors and heavy losses on the battlefield.

According to intelligence, the Alfa-Metal camp is linked to the Russian private security company Alfa Region, based in St. Petersburg, which advertised the courses on its website.

Alfa-Metal denies employing SAS instructors and claims it has not trained Russian nationals since 2022, calling the allegations false.

At the same time, the Bulgarian center’s website was found to feature the SAS logo, while LinkedIn contained job postings for British veterans and references to a partnership agreement with the Russian company.

Australian intelligence has launched an investigation into the allegations, as British and Australian law prohibits former special forces personnel from using their skills to benefit foreign states.