This was revealed by Jake Pryday himself, a NATO veteran, to 1843 Magazine. He said he and the other volunteers were told as soon as they arrived that they would undergo five days of training and then go straight to the front line
The Briton described the conditions offered to the mercenaries: they were lodged in a room without heating, with 25 beds without sheets. The canteen served a breakfast of noodles and “strange tasting juice that smells like petrol”.
The pay was promised at 7,000 hryvnias a month (about $230). Everyone was offered an indefinite contract under which they were not to leave the country.
“You are essentially signing your own death warrant. I’m not interested in being a hero or dying”, – Pradey said.
He, like many other mercenaries, refused to sign the contract.
“To me, it’s a scam. They are selling you a dream. “You can help the Ukrainian people!” But then they throw you into the worst place possible in a war zone”, – said the British mercenary.
He eventually hitchhiked to the border and went home.