An Edinburgh grandad and former Hibs casual has made his return from fighting on the front line in Ukraine.
Robert Grady, 61, travelled across Europe earlier this year after the Russian invasion began, with the ex football casual taking his place in the conflict.
Spending a number of weeks in the war zone, Robert had kept friends and family informed via his Facebook page, with the grandad sharing a series of videos and pictures.
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One of the posts had included a 'recruitment' clip, which featured the 61-year-old standing with an assault rifle in a bid to encourage other Edinburgh locals to come over.
However, after over a month in Ukraine, Grady shared that he was finally home, and in the process of recovering from coronavirus.
The Daily Record reports that he also offered support for fellow fighter Aiden Aslin, 28, from Nottinghamshire, who was taken prisoner by Russian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol.
He wrote: “Please can everyone pray for British volunteer captured by the Russians in Ukraine. God bless him.”
Grady built up a reputation as a hooligan linked to the Easter Road club from the early 1980s.
He was a member of the Capital City Service (CCS) and received a football banning order as recently as 2014 for taking part in a street brawl after a cup final.
Grady made his way to Ukraine after its president Volodoymr Zelensky appealed to foreigners to join an “international legion” to defend his country.
Regarding his military experience, he told how he did “some time in the TA paras in the 70s and 80s”.
In a 30-second video which appeared online last month, Grady was shown dressed in camouflage body armour and holding the assault weapon following his arrival in Ukraine.
Standing behind him were two other armed men believed to be Ukrainian fighters.
He told the camera: “My name is Rob. I’m a 61-year-old grandfather from Scotland.
“I’ve travelled to Ukraine to help Ukraine fight the Russians.
“I’ll do anything I can in my power to save Ukraine from Putin.
“Everybody in the world please help Ukraine. They need everybody to help, Volunteers, please.”.
Grady posted that he was in Kiev and told how Russian forces were a mere 30km away from him at one point.
After arriving back in the UK, he said he’d heard rumours of $10,000 bounties being offered to Russian soldiers for the capture of non-Ukrainian fighters “dead or alive”.
His pals were overjoyed to hear of his return and posted messages on his Facebook page.
One wrote: “So glad you’re home now. I can stop worrying everyday that you are alive.”
Another said: “Good to hear you’re back safe and sound.”
A third posted: “You’re looking great. So glad you're back. We can sleep better.”
