SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
London: Australian and British special forces veterans may be training Russians to fight in Ukraine according to a leaked intelligence memo obtained by the London Telegraph.
An assessment compiled for Five Eyes intelligence agencies found, with “strong confidence”, that Western military veterans had been recruited to train Russian citizens as well as “active duty military” personnel.
The Telegraph has been shown a copy of a memo compiled for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) based on interviews with two former Australian special forces operatives and an active-duty reservist who say they were approached to become instructors at training camps in Bulgaria and Serbia that allegedly hosted Russian clients.
The memo says a combat camp run by Alfa-Metal, a military training company, in Mejdeni, northern Bulgaria, employs instructors from “a range of backgrounds”, including the SAS, the Australian Commando Regiment, US police forces and the US Navy SEALs.
The Alfa-Metal centre offers special forces training and advanced sniper courses for around €4,000 ($6,448) per person, targeting prospective members of private military companies, bodyguards and corporate security teams.
However, the memo says that since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, private training camps in Europe have continued to accept Russian citizens for training courses, including “advanced close-quarters combat”.
The special forces veterans interviewed to collect intelligence on the camp said they had been told by current employees that it continued to train Russian nationals as of 2025, three years after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The former Australian military staff were interviewed by an intermediary, who has not been named for security reasons.
The Alfa-Metal centre’s website includes a photograph of the SAS logo on a promotional page for its instructors. The company also posted a job advertisement for SAS veterans to work at the centre on LinkedIn.
The advert, which appeared six months ago, sought “a UK citizen” with “a strong operational background and proven instructional experience”.
“We’re currently looking for an experienced SAS instructor to join our team,” it added. “If you’re passionate about training, professionalism, and raising standards, we’d love to hear from you.”
Alfa-Metal’s instructor page also appears to list an American veteran who claimed to have served in the US Army’s Special Operations Command for 12 years.
The man, whom the Telegraph is not naming, claimed to be a counter-terrorism expert who had completed the US Army Ranger training programme and the airborne school, as well as training in jungle operations, long-range surveillance and how to be a scout swimmer, all of which are courses synonymous with special forces training.
Putin’s manpower crisis
Russia has suffered horrendous losses on the battlefield in Ukraine, with 1.4 million casualties, including up to 500,000 fatalities, according to Western officials. The situation is now so dire that Moscow is losing about 6000 more troops a month than it can recruit, intelligence sources have said.
The manpower crisis has piled pressure on the Kremlin’s ability to train soldiers, which may have prompted troops to take military courses outside Russia, either to learn how to fight or to supplement inadequate training.
Alfa-Metal appears to be connected to Alfa Region, a Russian private security company based in St Petersburg.
Alfa Region advertises the training camp on its website and refers to courses for private military contractors and instructors with “extensive experience in special forces and police units in Bulgaria, the United States, Russia, Greece, Israel and Ukraine”.
Alfa-Metal told the Telegraph it had never employed SAS veterans and had no connection to British special forces.
A spokesman said the centre had not trained any Russian citizens since the invasion of Ukraine and had never employed a former member of the SAS, describing the allegations as “false”.
The training centre also denied any link to Alfa Region and attributed the claim to a confusion over “similarity between the names of independent legal entities”.
When The Telegraph highlighted a page on Alfa-Metal’s website that referred to a “partnership agreement” with Alfa Region, the spokesman confirmed the centre had “historical professional contacts” with the company and had “initiated a review of archived marketing materials” to correct “outdated content”.
‘If I had a pound for everyone who said they were former members of the SAS, I would be a very wealthy man. It’s almost always not true.’
David White, retired SAS colonel
The Telegraph understands that the intelligence memo detailing the alleged training of Russians by Western special forces veterans is now under investigation by the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.
A source close to the investigation said its findings would probably be shared with the UK and US through the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network. Under UK and Australian law, it is illegal for former special forces staff to use their training to assist a foreign state.
The Telegraph has been unable to independently verify the claims made in the memo.
Several SAS sources disputed claims that veterans from the elite regiment had been used, saying such actions would betray their values.
A senior SAS source added that they were unaware of any such veterans instructing Russians on how to fight.
“The SAS is a small community, and people talk,” they said. “If people were doing that, we’d know. If anyone was doing this, I’d be incredibly surprised and deeply disappointed.
“There are about 5000 SAS veterans, but there are easily 25,000 more people claiming to be part of the regiment because it suits their CVs. There are a lot of liars out there.”
Phil Campion, a former staff sergeant in 22 SAS Regiment, said: “It would be unethical that our troops could be training soldiers that end up fighting against our lads. They would have to be totally rogue to do that or dollar-motivated.”
David White, a retired SAS colonel, added that special forces veterans had always entered the “aftermarket” of military advisory work. But he said the regiment would have little sympathy for anyone caught helping to train Russians.
“If I had a pound for everyone who said they were former members of the SAS, I would be a very wealthy man,” he added. “It’s almost always not true. The fact they claim to be former SAS is likely just that – a claim.”
The Alfa-Metal spokesman said: “Alfa-Metal categorically rejects the allegation that we have used or are using former members of the British SAS or other Western special forces to train Russian nationals or individuals intending to participate in the war in Ukraine on behalf of Russia. This allegation is false.”
A British Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “It is long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment on UK Special Forces or intelligence matters.
“We have robust legislation in place to tackle foreign hostile activity, and the National Security Act gives our intelligence agencies and police the tools they need to detect and disrupt threats.”
The Telegraph, London
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