'British mercenaries killed while fighting in Ukraine'

Russia's defence ministry has claimed that its forces killed two British 'mercenaries' in Ukraine. 

The Kremlin said that the fighters were killed during an attack on the Ukrainian village of Mykhailivka, in the Donetsk region, which was taken over by Russian forces on October 13. 

The defence ministry quoted the deputy commander of the Russian battalion that led the assault, Igor Krasilnikov, as saying: 'There were two servicemen from Britain, mercenaries. They basically stayed in that stronghold. 

'They were definitely servicemen from Britain. There were stripes, flags on the uniform, NATO-style uniforms, and the weapons were also foreign-made.'

The Kremlin's claims could not be verified by MailOnline, nor could the identities of the 'mercenaries' be ascertained.  

The Kremlin said at the time of the attack on the village that it hit a Ukrainian airfield and drone warehouses, as well as 'accumulations of enemy manpower and military equipment'.

British volunteers and former troops have been killed in action in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. 

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In July, Peter Fouche, 49, a former London taxi driver, was buried after he was killed on June 27 as his unit clashed with Russian troops. 

At the funeral ceremony, Ukrainian soldiers carried Mr Fouche's coffin through Kyiv's landmark Independence Square, the site of mass protests in 2014 that forced out a pro-Russian president.

Mr Fouche's comrades held back tears as they lined up to say goodbye. Others read prayers as they held up Ukrainian flags and military insignia.

His partner, wearing a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, knelt down to embrace the coffin.

Russia's latest claims come after it was revealed that the UK's MoD was considering sending troops over to Ukraine to held train its forces up to fight Russia. 

The Independent revealed earlier this month that top military bosses were drawing up plans to travel to the west of Ukraine to provide intensive training to new recruits. 

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Britain has led a multi-national drive to train Ukrainian troops, under Operation Interflex, which has trained more than 45,000 troops as of September. 

The drive was extended by the British government that month, meaning the UK will train Ukrainian troops until at least the end of 2025. 

British defence secretary John Healey said at the time: 'Operation Interflex has provided the brave men and women of Ukraine the vital skills they need to defend their nation in the face of Putin's illegal invasion.

'The extension of this training, which is vital for Ukraine's defence, is another example of the UK's ironclad commitment to Ukraine.

'The UK will continue to step up our support. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.'

Despite the international support for Ukraine, it has suffered many losses since the invasion began in February 2022.  

Russian forces currently are fighting street-to-street battles with Ukrainian troops in the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove as Moscow's forces push to gain control over the whole of the Donbas region, according to pro-Russian bloggers.

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Russian forces, which President Vladimir Putin ordered into Ukraine in February 2022, advanced in September at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data, despite Ukraine taking a part of Russia's Kursk region.

The thrust of the Russian advance over recent months has been in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, over which Putin says he wants to gain full control.

In recent weeks, Russia has surrounded towns in Donetsk region and then slowly constricted them until Ukrainian units are forced to withdraw. According to bloggers they are doing the same to Selydove, which had a pre-war population of over 20,000.

'Street by street fighting is going on in the town,' according to Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. 'The assault on Selydove has intensified.'

Other pro-Russian bloggers published video of intensive shelling of Selydove. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the footage. The Russian defence ministry did not comment and there was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

The General Staff of Ukraine's military, in a late afternoon report on Sunday, said Ukrainian forces had repelled 15 Russian attacks around several towns and villages, including Selydove. The report said nine battles were still raging in the area.

The popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState showed Selydove to be in Ukrainian hands.

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Russia controls about 80% of the Donbas, which covers an area about half the size of the U.S. state of Ohio, and is pushing westwards along about 100 km of the 1200 km front around the tactically important towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.

The 2-1/2-year-old Ukraine war is entering what Russian officials say is its most dangerous phase as Russian forces advance and the West ponders how the war will end.

Ukraine wants NATO membership, a step that Russia has said would be unacceptable. The United States and key NATO powers have not publicly endorsed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's call for an immediate NATO-membership invitation.

Russian forces, which have taken about a fifth of Ukraine, control 98.5% of the Luhansk region and 60% of the Donetsk region. Together, the two regions make up the Donbas, which is the cradle of the war.

After a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's 2014 Maidan Revolution, Russia annexed Crimea and pro-Russian protests broke out in parts of the Donbas, where Moscow began supporting separatist forces.

MailOnline has contacted the UK's FCDO for comment.