Civilian James Dee said only seconds earlier, the enemy had killed his medic pal Craig Mackintosh, 48, in a surprise attack.

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Recalling the deadly encounter in the eastern city of Kharkiv, James told the BBC the Russian was only “10 metres away” when he opened fire.

The volunteer fighter, who had no previous military experience, revealed: “One of my friends was digging a trench and I was sitting on the edge.

“You know when you get that feeling someone’s behind you, I looked behind me, surely enough, there was someone there.

“He was only 10m away from me, looking all confused.”

James said he saw the attackers “face change” before he made eye contact “with me”.

The Brit screamed “put your gun down” but in a flash the enemy dropped to the floor, opened fire and a frantic firefight exploded.

James unloaded six shots into the attacker, killing him, but it was too late.

Craig, a landscape gardener from Thetford, in Norfolk, who had joined volunteers in August, was dead.

It is believed he was hit in the neck.

Recalling the aftermath, James said: “I looked down and I’ll be honest, I cried. Not because I was scared.

“But seeing it up close and personal, you’re talking with someone, having a laugh and life’s just gone within the click of the fingers.”

I didn’t find out until the day before he was going… I was gutted

Adrian Macrow, Craig’s brother

Craig had two daughters and two step-daughters and had served in the Territorial Army between the ages of 16 to 23 when he had the ambition of becoming a full time soldier.

But an inoperable cyst near his brain meant he failed a medical examination to join the British Army.

After an accident involving a chainsaw left him in constant pain, he decided to volunteer to join the Ukrainian war effort as a medic, leaving the UK on March 24.

He returned briefly in April for a spell of leave before starting a second tour with a volunteer squad in August.

He died on August 25.

‘CRUSHED’

James’s brutal account was revealed in the documentary ‘Brits in Battle: Ukraine’, availiable on BBC iPlayer.

The show features Craig’s broken family, including brother Adrian Macrow who was “crushed” by Craig’s death.

He said: “I didn’t find out until the day before he was going… I was gutted.

“Even on the way to the airport just anything to get him home, but he had his heart set on it.”

Daughter Kiya Mackintosh said her dad’s August 25 death “didn’t feel real” but she praised him as “courageous” for his actions.