Ben Stimson, 50, was an antiques dealer from Oldham before he decided to take up arms for Vladimir Putin’s Russia in 2024, serving for a year but claiming he is ‘not a traitor to the British people’
A British man who is fighting alongside Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces against Ukraine has declared he is “not a traitor” in a candid interview.
Ben Stimson, 50, was an antiques dealer from Oldham before he chose to take up arms for Vladimir Putin’s Russia in 2024. He had previously been imprisoned for more than five years for a terror offence after travelling to fight for “pro-Moscow militia” in the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014.
Speaking to Sky News’s Moscow correspondent, Stimson revealed he felt an “affinity” towards the “ethnic Russian people” of the Donbas, and wanted to defend them.
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“I’m not a traitor to the British people, maybe to the British Government I’m a traitor,” he said. Stimson contended that without a formal “declaration of war” from either the UK or Russia, he could not be considered a traitor, and insisted he still had “a lot of friends” back in Britain.
The report revealed he served in the Russian military, initially as an engineer before becoming an instructor for other English-speaking recruits. When quizzed on how many fellow Britons were serving in the Russian military, he told the interviewer it was “more than you think”.
“I’m a soldier, I stand by my belief that what I’ve done is the right thing to do,” said Stimson. He added: “Whether the military operation is right or wrong, history will tell, I believe it’s right.”
Stimson signed a contract with the Russian military in 2024, confirming he had served for more than a year but was not “front line”. He served first as an engineer, and then as an instructor for other English speaking troops, according to Sky.
He said he was “third line”, not front line. When asked if he had fired any weapons he said: “I could guarantee you I’ve killed nobody.”
Having been granted Russian citizenship earlier this year, he would almost certainly face arrest should he return to the UK. The UK Government’s current travel guidance for Russia warns: “If you travel to Russia to join the Russian army, or to help others engaged in the war with Ukraine, you could be breaking UK laws. You could be prosecuted when you return to the UK.”
Stimson’s relatives have severed all contact with him since he departed to fight on behalf of Russia, a consequence he claimed, as a “principled man”, he was prepared to accept.
