Ex-Australian special forces troops approached to train Russians to fight Ukraine, leaked report claims

Special forces veterans from Australia and Britain have been approached to provide training to Russian soldiers, according to a leaked Five Eyes intelligence assessment. The details of the training are not specified, but it is described as "illegal" in the assessment.

The approach to the veterans was reportedly made in the context of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 8, which Trump described as "great". The call followed a visit to Kyiv by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who discussed ending the war with Ukrainian officials. According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukrainian President Zelensky expects the war to continue into the winter months.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Kyiv Independent — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.