Western veterans, including U.S. veterans, are reportedly training Russians to fight in Ukraine.
A leaked intelligence memo compiled for Five Eyes intelligence agencies found with “strong confidence” that Russia has recruited the veterans to train their citizens as well as “active duty military” via a European combat camp, as initially reported by The Telegraph earlier this month.
The memo said the combat camp in northern Bulgaria, run by military training company Alfa-Metal, employs instructors from U.S. police forces and U.S. Navy SEALs, as well as instructors from other backgrounds—including the SAS and the Australian Commando Regiment.
Alfa-Metal denied these allegations. Military.com has not independently verified the memo.
Reports Show Varied Allegations of US Involvement
A spokesperson for Alfa-Metal told The Telegraph it had not trained any Russian citizens since the Ukraine invasion, and that content on its website suggesting otherwise was “outdated.”
The Alfa-Metal spokesperson told the publication: “Alfa-Metal categorically rejects the allegation that we have used or are using former members of the British SAS or other Western special forces to train Russian nationals or individuals intending to participate in the war in Ukraine on behalf of Russia. This allegation is false.”
The memo said that employees of the combat camp told veterans that it continued to train Russians as of 2025, three years into the country’s war with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center foreground, attends a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.Credit: Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP
The Telegraph also reported that Alfa-Metal’s instructor page appears to list an American veteran who had served in the Army’s Special Operations Command for 12 years, adding that Alfa-Metal might be linked to a Russian private security company based in St Petersburg, called Alfa Region.
Alfa Region reportedly advertises Alfa-Metal on its website and refers to courses with instructors with “extensive experience in special forces and police units in Bulgaria, the United States, Russia, Greece, Israel and Ukraine.”
The New York Post reported Monday that 18 U.S. recruits were “duped” to fight on Russia’s behalf and on the frontlines—all for a $26,000 signing bonus and $2,000 monthly salary.
War With Ukraine ‘To Persist’
Russia’s war with Ukraine continues after roughly 4 1/2 years of fighting and estimates of between 1.25 million and 2 million combined casualties and wounded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in Eastern Ukraine in February 2022.
Earlier this month, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said that the war could yet drag on for years.
“We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead,” Colby told an online meeting of countries helping Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last Friday that he asked U.S. President Donald Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to use Beijing’s influence over Moscow in a diplomatic effort to get Russia to end the war.
Zelensky previously indicated he would press Trump to provide more Patriot air defense systems that Kyiv needs to counter Russia’s ballistic missiles.
Trump welcomed Xi to Washington last week as part of discussions involving economics and artificial intelligence.
Zelensky also recently visited Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to build support for more weapons and diplomatic help as the war continues, with the U.S. and Canada embroiled in an ongoing rift due to tariffs.
Ukrainian Soldier Holds Out Hope
Andrii Pidlisnyi, who has fought nearly every year for the Ukrainian Armed Forces dating back to 2014, told Military.com in August that he believes the outcome of the current iteration of the war against Russia will echo previous military conflicts. He hopes that the United States will stay by Ukraine’s side.
He detailed how war fighting has dramatically altered the past decade, notably due to the influx of technology—drones, especially—and a retreat from traditional methods of warfare going back decades.
Andrii Pidlisnyi spoke to Military.com about serving in the Ukrainian Army since 2014 and how he forges on in what has become a stalemate with Russia. (Andrii Pidlisnyi)
The U.S. under the Trump administration and a GOP-controlled Congress has been reticent to approve additional appropriations in Ukraine’s favor. The last major appropriation package the U.S. approved for Ukraine was in April 2024, at a cost of $61 billion.
“I believe (I cannot speak for everyone) that the United States as a whole supports Ukrainians, including the Congress,” Pidlisnyi said. “Of course, I would like this support to materialize in actual support with equipment and resources, because now, according to [President Donald] Trump, the United States is selling, not helping.
“It’s not very pleasant to feel like the ones who have to prove that they are the defending party, the one on whose side the truth is. It is especially unpleasant to prove this to a country that positions itself as our ally, a world judge, and a bearer of justice.”