Fighting the Russians after Moscow invaded Ukraine was an attractive prospect for Craig Lang.

His marriage had broken down, he was dishonourably discharged from the US army and had spent time in a Kenyan jail.

But he hit rock bottom this week when a Florida judge found the 35-year-old guilty of conspiracy to murder, after Serafin Lorenzo Jr and his wife Deanna were sprayed with bullets in an office park in Estero, on the Gulf Coast, in 2018.

Lang was initially wanted for murder but Ukraine is barred from deporting anyone who could face the death penalty, suggesting prosecutors may have revised his charges so that he could be extradited.

During the trial, Lang was accused of launching an “international crime spree”.

His signing up to fight in Ukraine was the latest in his military career, which started when he joined the US army in 2008.