Disgusted dad blasts British 'traitor' son who joined Putin's soldiers in war

27 March 2024 , 21:58

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Ben Stimson travelled to Donetsk to fight for Putin, all the while telling his father that he was going there to become a teaching assistant (Image: INTERNET URL)

The dad of a British man who joined the Russian army to fight against Ukraine has said his son is "no fighter", it has been reported.

Ben Stimson travelled to Donetsk to fight for Putin, all the while telling his father that he was going there to become a teaching assistant. Former local councillor Martin Stimson said he washed his hands of his son after discovering his trip to Russia was for a much more sinister reason.

According to Mr Stimson, his son lived with him for eight months after leaving prison. After, Ben said he was offered a teaching assistant job in Russia, so left the UK in February. However, he ended up fighting for Russia.

Ben had previously joined pro-Russian militia forces in the Donbas region in 2015 and was jailed for five years when he returned to Britain in 2017.

Ben Stimson is one of the Britons fighting for Russia (INTERNET URL)

Now, he is fighting Ukrainian soldiers with Russia's Pyatnashka brigade, made up of mainly foreign mercenaries. His father spoke of how his son is "not a violent person at all" with the idea of him being in the army "slightly ridiculous."

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Mr Stimson told Mail Online: "He never wanted to join the British Army, he was more of an eco-warrior type who went to protests and climbed up trees.. that sort of thing.

"He came out of prison last year and was staying here on and off while he found somewhere to live, but he couldn't find anywhere affordable and at one point he was living rough in Manchester. When he was at home he was like a hermit, just stayed upstairs room in his room.

"He told me a few months ago that he was going to start a new life in Spain, and then it was Turkey and then he said he'd been offered a teaching assistant job in Russia. He's always liked Russia so he left."

Unfortunately, the father found out after his friends said they saw images of Ben that he came to the conclusion that once again, his son had joined Russian forces. Now, Mr Stimson says he has blocked his son and doesn't want to hear from him.

Ben, who has posted a number of videos online since he fled to Donetsk, including sickening footage showing frontline soldiers walking past two dead bodies, is one of at least two British men currently fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

He is friends with 37-year-old Aiden Minnis. He is a former drug addict and convicted thug from Wiltshire, who proclaims that he is a "Z patriot" and a "sapper in the Russian army." Like Ben, he has also been disowned by his own family.

Zesha Saleem