Ben Stimson, 50, was an antiques dealer from Oldham before he decided to take up arms for Vladimir Putin's Russia in 2024, serving for a year but claiming he is 'not a traitor to the British people'Fiona Leishman Assistant News Editor and Stanley Murphy-Johns Press Association11:53, 21 May 2026Updated 12:08, 21 May 2026A British man who is fighting alongside Vladimir Putin's Russian forces against Ukraine has declared he is "not a traitor" in a candid interview.‌Ben Stimson, 50, was an antiques dealer from Oldham before he chose to take up arms for Vladimir Putin's Russia in 2024. He had previously been imprisoned for more than five years for a terror offence after travelling to fight for "pro-Moscow militia" in the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014.‌Speaking to Sky News's Moscow correspondent, Stimson revealed he felt an "affinity" towards the "ethnic Russian people" of the Donbas, and wanted to defend them.‌READ MORE: Ukraine spies uncover major Kremlin smear campaign against ZelenskyREAD MORE: Government accused of 'sacrificing Ukranians for oil prices' after watering down Russian sanctions"I'm not a traitor to the British people, maybe to the British Government I'm a traitor," he said. Stimson contended that without a formal "declaration of war" from either the UK or Russia, he could not be considered a traitor, and insisted he still had "a lot of friends" back in Britain.The report revealed he served in the Russian military, initially as an engineer before becoming an instructor for other English-speaking recruits. When quizzed on how many fellow Britons were serving in the Russian military, he told the interviewer it was "more than you think".‌"I'm a soldier, I stand by my belief that what I've done is the right thing to do," said Stimson. He added: "Whether the military operation is right or wrong, history will tell, I believe it's right."Stimson signed a contract with the Russian military in 2024, confirming he had served for more than a year but was not "front line". He served first as an engineer, and then as an instructor for other English speaking troops, according to Sky. He said he was "third line", not front line. When asked if he had fired any weapons he said: "I could guarantee you I've killed nobody."‌Having been granted Russian citizenship earlier this year, he would almost certainly face arrest should he return to the UK. The UK Government's current travel guidance for Russia warns: "If you travel to Russia to join the Russian army, or to help others engaged in the war with Ukraine, you could be breaking UK laws. You could be prosecuted when you return to the UK."He previously went to Ukraine in 2015, spending four months in the Donbas region with pro-Moscow militia. When he returned to the UK after that trip he was convicted of a terror offence and sentenced to more than five years in prison.‌Speaking of his decision to fly out to Russia, he said: "Maybe I would have been better just going on protests in London and marching, but no, I chose to sign up the milita in 2015 because I thought, and I still believe, that I was protecting the people of the Donbas, the ethnic Russian people for their identiy, their language..."When asked how he ended up going from Oldham to the Donbas, and what called him to the region, he explained: "I'm from a working class background, Oldham is a very, very, working class town as you know. The miners of the Donbas during the great miners' strike supported working class miners of the north of England and the Yorkshire coalfields."Article continues belowHe said this is what caused his affinity to the people in the region. Having served in Russia's military, Stimson was granted Russian citizenship earlier this year, which he told Russian media he was "happy to finally receive", adding that his "future is in Russia." But after he moved to Russia, he claims his family cut ties and began receiving death threats."I have to accept my decisions, and of course I'd like to speak to my father again, but it's not going to happen, that's his decision, not mine. Why regret things that there's nothing you can do about," he said. When asked if fighting for Russia was worth more to him than his relationship with his family he said "as a principal man, yes."