Veterans from the famous British army's Special Air Service (SAS), but also from other Western army units, are training Russians to fight in Ukraine, writes the British newspaper "Telegraph", which has a leaked intelligence report.
In its extensive publication on the subject, the publication states that an assessment prepared for the intelligence agencies of the "Five Eyes" group, which includes the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, establishes with "high confidence" that Western military veterans have been hired to train Russian citizens, as well as "active servicemen".
The "Telegraph" was shown a copy of a report prepared for Australia's SIS intelligence agency, based on interviews with two former Australian special forces operatives and one active duty reservist who said they were approached to become instructors at training camps in Bulgaria and Serbia that allegedly housed Russian clients.
It said the combat camp in the village of Mezhdeni in northern Bulgaria, run by the military training company "Alfa-Metal", employs instructors with "diverse backgrounds", including from the British SAS, the Australian Commando Regiment, the US police force and the US Navy SEALs. The centre offers special forces training and advanced sniper courses for around €4,000 per person, targeting potential members of private military companies, personal guards and corporate security teams. The Bulgarian website of "Alfa-Metal" states that Alfa Metal Ltd. is the Bulgarian branch of a company registered in the UK.
Special forces veterans interviewed to gather intelligence on the camp said that current staff believed the camp was still training Russian nationals in 2025, three years after Vladimir Putin's army invaded Ukraine.
"The Telegraph" reports that "Alfa-Metal" posted a job ad on LinkedIn six months ago seeking SAS veterans to work at the center. It said it was looking for a "UK citizen" with "solid operational experience and a proven track record in training." The instructor section of the "Alfa-Metal" website lists also appears to be an American veteran who claims to have served in the US Army's Special Operations Command for 12 years.
Putin's personnel crisis
In its publication, the "Telegraph" points out that Russia has suffered horrific losses on the battlefield in Ukraine - 1.4 million killed and wounded, including up to 500,000 dead, according to Western officials. "The situation is currently so dire that Moscow is losing about 6,000 more soldiers per month than it can recruit, intelligence sources say", we read there.
It is probably the crisis in personnel and training of soldiers that is pushing Russians to attend military courses outside Russia to learn how to fight or improve their skills, the British publication points out.
The newspaper concludes that "Alpha-Metal" is clearly connected to "Alpha Region" – a Russian private security company based in St. Petersburg that advertises the training camp on its website and mentions courses for private military contractors and instructors with "extensive experience in special forces and police units in Bulgaria, the US, Russia, Greece, Israel and Ukraine".
"Alfa-Metal" denies
Alfa-Metal told the "Telegraph" that it had never hired SAS veterans and had no connection to the British special forces. A company spokesman also said the center had not trained Russian citizens since the invasion of Ukraine and called the allegations "false". The training center also denies any connection to "Alfa Region" and attributed the claim to confusion due to "the similarity between the names of independent legal entities".
Asked by "Telegraph" about the section on "Alfa-Metal"'s website that mentioned "a partnership agreement" with "Alfa Region", the spokesperson confirmed that the center had "historical professional contacts" with the company and had "initiated a review of archived marketing materials" to correct "outdated content".
"The Telegraph" has meanwhile learned that the information about the alleged training of Russians by veterans of Western special forces is currently being investigated by the Australian SIS. Under British and Australian law, it is illegal for former special forces personnel to use their training to assist a foreign state. At the same time, "The Telegraph" stresses that it has not been able to independently verify the allegations contained in the leaked report.
The British publication points out that a senior SAS source said that he was not aware of such veterans training Russians in combat operations. "The SAS is a small community and people talk to each other," the source said. "If people were doing this, we would know. If someone was doing it, I would be extremely surprised and deeply disappointed." The source also points out: "There are about 5,000 SAS veterans, but you can easily find another 25,000 people who claim to be part of the regiment because it looks good on their CVs. There are a lot of liars out there."