Web Desk (MNN); A British national who fought alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison camp after being convicted of working as a paid mercenary, Russian prosecutors announced on Thursday.
The convicted man was identified as 30-year-old Hayden Davies by Russia’s Prosecutor General. According to prosecutors, Davies was tried by a court in Russian-controlled Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed to annex in 2022, a move rejected by Kyiv and Western countries as illegal.
State prosecutors released a video showing Davies standing behind bars during questioning, wearing a black coat and with his head shaved. In the footage, Davies says he travelled to Ukraine to join the International Legion and received a monthly payment of between $400 and $500.
The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine is part of Ukraine’s armed forces and consists of foreign volunteers. When asked whether he pleaded guilty to the charges, Davies responded affirmatively and nodded.
It remains unclear whether his statements were made under pressure, and there was no immediate reaction from the British Foreign Office. Earlier, in February, the UK government said Davies should be treated as a prisoner of war rather than a mercenary and was entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions. London also criticised Russia for what it described as the political and propaganda-driven exploitation of prisoners of war.
Russian prosecutors said Davies arrived in western Ukraine in August 2024, signed a contract with the International Legion, received military training and later took part in combat against Russian forces in the Donetsk region. He was captured in winter 2024 while carrying a US-made assault rifle and ammunition.
British media reports say Davies previously served in the British army, is married and hails from Southampton. In a similar case, a Russian court sentenced another Briton, James Scott Rhys Anderson, to 19 years in prison in March for fighting for Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region.
