Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said Lee, 20, is the sole mercenary in Ukraine from Malaysia.

He said preliminary investigations found that Lee was wounded in the ankle by shrapnel from a Russian drone. He escaped but dropped his MyKad and Malaysian driving licence while doing so, said Razarudin.

Investigations showed that Lee became a mercenary in Ukraine in April after applying on the Ukrainian military’s website. Lee went to Britain in March before signing up as a mercenary.

Razarudin said Lee “did not plan to return home”, Bernama reported.

He said Lee was motivated to sign up as a mercenary because of his interest in the military and the attractive salary of up to US$2,700 (RM11,800) a month.

“Family issues also spurred him to distance himself as Lee was brought up by his mother in Perlis after she separated from his father when he was young,” he said.

Razarudin said Lee studied for his A Levels at a private college in Petaling Jaya and took a degree course at a college in Subang Jaya before stopping early this year.

Several photographs of a MyKad and a Malaysian driving licence with a Perlis address have been widely shared recently after they were reportedly found on a battlefield in Ukraine when Russian forces captured a Ukrainian base.