Christopher Perryman, a former British soldier, did not enjoy life as a security guard protecting the HS2 line from eco-protestors. They called him a child molester and a bigot. So when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last year, he decided to go there instead.
‘I hated HS2 – we were getting things thrown at us, and getting called every name you can think of. They called us the foot soldiers of fascism,’ says Perryman, who served in Iraq with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. ‘Then a mate told me that Ukraine’s President was asking for foreign military veterans to help. I’ve never liked bullies and Putin is a bully, so off I went.’ Perryman is now with a unit of western volunteers helping Ukrainian forces battle for the islands along the Dnipro river near Kherson, which is where I met him last month.
When temperatures drop to -10°C, soldiers can’t even make tea for fear the drones may detect a stove light
Like the HS2 eco-protestors, Perryman has yet to come face to face with a real fascist foot soldier.
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