A team of SAS veterans is set to join Ukraine's battle against the Russian invasion.
Retired UK special forces soldiers have volunteered for a variety of missions deep inside Ukraine to help back up the country's defence.
It is believed that former Paratroopers may at some point join the special forces team in Ukraine, alongside other UK military specialists, The Mirror reports.
The veterans, aged between 40 and 60, have had meetings to discuss signing up for the dangerous mission, backing up Ukrainian forces in combat.
Among them, and key to their operation, are highly-trained snipers and experts in the use of anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles.
Snipers will also help in taking out Russian forward air spotters and Moscow’s special forces who are guiding in airstrikes on troops and local communities.
It is believed the operation is not being paid for by the British government but will be funded by a country in Europe, still to be named, via a private military company.
The plan is a way of backing Ukraine militarily but without officially sending serving troops into battle against Vladimir Putin’s forces.
More than a dozen of the veterans have already arrived in Ukraine and another dozen will travel there this week.
Among them are warrant officers, sergeants and corporals who have fought all over the world but no Army officers have signed up yet.
It follows Ukraine’s President Zelensky announcing an international call to arms for people to go to Ukraine and help defend his homeland.
So far, according to official Ukrainian figures, his troops have killed 5,300 Russian troops in ferocious battles for cities throughout the country.
The ex-SAS team have fought all over Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere globally.
One ex-SAS man told the Daily Mirror: “This has had to happen very quickly as the situation in Ukraine is now desperate and they need urgent help.
“A lot of ex-parachute regiment colleagues are also very keen to go. Many people are very keen to go and it has had to be organised very quickly.
“It is legal as none of the men going out are still serving and Ukraine has invited people to go in and help the fight militarily.
“It means some of the most experienced veterans in the world will assist Ukraine and link up with Ukraine’s force headquarters.
“And we do know that Putin has a great deal of respect of the SAS.”
Sources confirmed all of the SAS veterans heading for Ukraine are experts in the use of Javelin and Stinger missiles.
President Zelensky appealed to people to help his country take up arms on social media.
He said: "The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is addressing all citizens of the world, friends of Ukraine, peace and democracy.
“Anyone who wants to join the defence of Ukraine, Europe and the world can come.”
Today it emerged The French Foreign Legion has given the go-ahead for its Ukrainian members to return to their homeland to help defend it - along with their full battle kit.
A squadron of serving SAS troops is in Poland already, helping to train Ukrainian troops in how to launch sabotage missions in an insurgency against Russia.
Their aim is to teach Ukrainians how to form secret resistance units to undermine an occupying force and even assassinate collaborators and Moscow sympathisers.
The British Ministry of Defence has already said no British troops will be in Ukraine to fight as this would mean Russia confronting a NATO member state directly.
It is believed serving SAS teams are in the Baltic States, with one team on standby to support a joint US -UK operation to evacuate President Zelensky by helicopter.
SAS soldiers have been pre-positioned across the Baltic States to support Nato partners and poised to react to any incident inside Ukraine that UK politicians decide needs urgent military intervention.
Operating with an American Joint Special Operations Group the British troops are ready to airlift President Zelensky if he asks for help and react to any other ‘humanitarian emergency’ - that may be approved by Downing Street.
It comes as the UK delivers hi-tech air defence weapons to the Ukrainian military in a move to help them down Russian helicopter gunships attacking Zelensky frontline forces.
NATO countries are coordinating a massive resupply of weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Ukraine which are being shipped in from outside Ukraine by local troops.
One missile, called Starstreak is a shoulder-launched air defence weapon - designed to target helicopters and fighter aircraft.
The lethal weapon which is feared by helicopter pilots can strike at ranges up to three and a half miles, locking onto aircraft and firing tungsten darts that rip through the fuselage.
The delivery of thousands more missiles comes as Ukrainians say UK-supplied NLAW anti-tank weapons have been smashing Russian tanks.
So far a staggering 191 Russian tanks have been wiped out, according to Ukrainian official figures, many of them by NLAWs.
Russia has lost 29 warplanes since the invasion started, 816 anti-personnel vehicles, 291 trucks and 60 fuel tankers, losses which have badly damaged the Russian onslaught.
The package of weapons includes thousands of grenades, claymore anti-personnel devices, heavy machine guns, 66 mm light anti-tank weapons, high-velocity sniper rifles.
Britain along-with other Nato forces is also providing ‘remote military advice’ to help Ukrainian commanders direct their tactics to counter Putin’s overwhelming forces with intelligence guidance.
A senior source said the Russians have a huge force of helicopters in Belarus, as well as the East which are being used to target the Ukrainians before the ground force arrives.
He said : “If Zelensky presses the ‘get me’ button the SAS and US team will fly in and evacuate him.
“The hope is that the Russians would agree to an air corridor for the airlift, but who knows.
“In the meantime Putin’s people have overwhelming control of the skies and the Ukrainians need air defence weapons and more anti-tank weapons”.
The civilian force has been formed before, secretly training local forces in counter-terror tactics.
In Jordan five years ago British ex-Paras trained up Syrian Defence Force troops to battle Islamic State in a secretive mission to pit better skilled troops against the terror group.
The project went on in secret camps just over the border and was funded via a private military company to avoid the government paying for it directly.
Ukraine’s call to arms from foreigners was backed up by Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.
He said: "Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin too.
British foreign secretary Liz Truss backed Brits who wanted to go to Ukraine to go. 'I do support that,' she said.
"The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy not just for Ukraine - for all of Europe. If people want to support that struggle I support that.”
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