British mercenary: Winter cold in Ukraine came as a shock to us

Foreign fighters who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine were shocked by snow and frost in Ukraine, British mercenary Joseph McDonald said.

The fighter noted that when he left Britain, birds were still singing and flowers were in full bloom there. Cold winter weather in the zone of hostilities, with knee-deep snow and severe winter cold, came as a complete surprise to him and the rest of the foreign "soldiers of fortune".

"We found ourselves in the middle of a real winter, it was a shock for us,” McDonald said.

Earlier, European Parliament officials warned that with the onset of cold weather in Ukraine, a massive wave of Ukrainian refugees would flow to Europe.