Brit shares how he shot dead Russian soldier who had killed fellow countryman
A British volunteer in Ukraine has described the moment he shot dead a Russian soldier who had killed a fellow Brit, during a dangerous operation in Russian-held territory.
Craig Mackintosh, a 48-year-old landscape gardener, was killed by troops while out on patrol when his squad was ambushed in Russian territory, near the city of Kharkiv.
James Dee, from Pontefract, recounts the moment on the BBC's new documentary, Brits in Battle: Ukraine.
The joint investigation for the BBC’s Our World series and Newsnight, reveals British fighters’ life in the trenches, taking on daring missions behind enemy lines, capturing Russian prisoners, and their near-death experiences coming under fire from tanks.
James Dee says: "We were in Russian territory and the Russians did not know we were in their territory.
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James Dee, from Pontefract, shot dead the Russian soldier (Brits in Battle: Ukraine is available on BBC iPlayer now)"One of my Australian friends was digging a trench, so I was just sitting on the edge of the trench and you know when you got a feeling someone's behind you... I look behind me and sure enough, there was.
"He was less than 10 metres from me, looking all confused. He thought we were Russian."
Mr Dee said he shot him six times, with footage showing him falling to the ground.
Mr Dee said he shot the Russian six times (Brits in Battle: Ukraine is available on BBC iPlayer now)But the Russian soldier had already fired his own shots.
He continues: "I just remember shouting, Jed's down, Jed's dead. Craig is dead. After that firefight, I just cried. Seeing it up and personal, their life was gone with a click of a finger."
Mr Mackintosh's family later confirmed that the man from Thetford in Norfolk died “in the line of duty” on August 24.
'After that firefight, I just cried. Seeing it up and personal, their life was gone with a click of a finger' (Brits in Battle: Ukraine is available on BBC iPlayer now)He had two daughters and two stepdaughters and served in the Territorial Army between the ages of 16 and 23.
Mr Dee says in the documentary he thinks about him every day.
Another volunteer, Tim Stead, says to the BBC that the experience was "eye-opening" and even with experience in the British Army he had never experienced anything like Ukraine, particularly coming under tank fire.
Landscape gardener Craig Mackintosh was shot dead by Russian forces (East Anglia News Service)
He was on patrol when his squad was ambushed in Russian territory (East Anglia News Service)Mr Stead was awarded the Ukrainian Medal of Honor for his work.
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He said in the documentary: "In the army, we have the tanks, we have the helicopters, we have the fast air and things like that. Here, it's all against you."
It is believed around 3,000 British volunteers went out to fight on the Ukrainian side in the war against Russia and eight so far have been reported dead.
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