British teenager killed by Russian drone ‘minutes into first mission’ in Ukraine | EUROtoday

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An 18-year-old British volunteer who enlisted to assist defend Ukraine was killed by a Russian drone simply minutes into his first mission, in response to a report.

James Wilton, from Huddersfield, travelled to Ukraine aged 17 and with no prior army expertise, the place he was reportedly given a crash coaching course by Ukrainian instructors.

But his first mission on Ukraine’s jap entrance on 23 July 2024 was additionally to be his final, after James and his comrade discovered themselves being hunted by a number of Russian drones in an open discipline with no cowl to run for.

“I’ll never get over this. I didn’t want him to go but his heart was set on it. He wanted to help Ukraine,” his father Graham informed The Sun.

“I’ve been told bits of the story of how he died, but have struggled to deal with it and wish we could have swapped places because he had his whole life in front of him.”

Ukrainian military members visit the Donetsk region entrance sign protected by anti-drone net and surrounded by Ukrainian brigade flags

Ukrainian army members go to the Donetsk area entrance signal protected by anti-drone internet and surrounded by Ukrainian brigade flags (Roman Pilipey/AFP by way of Getty Images)

A US volunteer, named solely as Jason, who risked his life to retrieve James’s physique and misplaced his foot after stepping on a landmine 4 days later, stated that his pal “never stood a chance” within the face of the Russian drone.

“It was James’s first and last mission,” he informed the outlet, describing his staff of six’s job of crossing an open discipline in teams of two, every 20 metres aside, to resupply different troopers.

“Myself and James were the last two. I was the last man in the group. I was telling him to stay 20 metres ahead of me. I could see he was scared and I was scared too, but I told him he was going to be okay,” he stated.

But Jason recalled his shock when he out of the blue noticed his pal cease midway throughout the sector.

He stated: “Then I heard it – a buzz in the air above us – and thought: ‘Oh f***.’ It took me two or three seconds to spot it, then I saw it and realised we were in the worst possible situation we could be in – in an open field with nowhere to run.

“I could tell it was a ‘drop drone’ armed with a bomb and its pilot was trying to decide who to kill – me or James,” he added. “He wanted us closer together so he could kill both of us with one bomb.”

Ukrainian servicemen fire an M777 howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline on Velyka Novosilka direction on 26 January

Ukrainian servicemen fireplace an M777 howitzer in the direction of Russian positions on the frontline on Velyka Novosilka route on 26 January (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Jason added: “We each began sprinting with two drones on prime of us – then a 3rd one appeared. Once the drone was on him, James by no means stood an opportunity. He was solely about 30 metres from the ditch line once I noticed the drone explode.

“As I bent down to grab him, one of the other drones appeared 10 metres above my head and I closed my eyes and thought: ‘Oh s***! Now I’m going to die.’ I felt a calm moment when I resigned myself to it and held on to my friend waiting for it to happen.

“But after five seconds it just zipped away and left me there – I still have no idea why.”

It is the first time that James’s death has been reported, with Jason speaking to the publication from the Superhumans Centre in Lviv, a charity-backed facility helping those wounded in Russia’s war.

His father said it had taken a while to process his son’s death, adding: “But I think it’s time that some kind of public tribute was paid and it’s good to be finally talking about what happened.”

Describing his son – who had completed a two-year course in animal welfare and land care before deciding to travel to Ukraine – as “such a laid back, polite, easy-going and likeable young man”, Graham said: “I’ll always be proud of him.

“I brought his ashes back home, but might go back to scatter them there [in Ukraine]. I think that might be what he would have wanted.”

In a rare update on the human cost of Vladimir Putin’s war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in December that Kyiv had lost 43,000 soldiers killed on the battlefield since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to lay flowers during a ceremony in Kyiv to commemorate the 107th anniversary of the Battle of Kruty

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to lay flowers during a ceremony in Kyiv to commemorate the 107th anniversary of the Battle of Kruty (AFP/Getty)

“There have been 370,000 cases of medical assistance for the wounded. It also needs to be mentioned that in our army approximately half of the soldiers wounded in action are later returning to the battlefield, and that our data also includes light or repeat injuries,” Mr Zelensky stated.

Additionally, he stated round 198,000 Russian troopers had been killed and an extra 550,000 wounded.

The deaths of least 16 British volunteers have been reported up to now after they travelled to assist defend Ukraine.

Current Foreign Office steerage warns that, “if you travel to Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the war, your activities may amount to offences under UK legislation” and “you could be prosecuted on your return to the UK”.

Since final May, British nationals who be part of the International Legion or Ukraine Armed Forces need to serve at the least six months and will not be allowed to go away Ukraine throughout this era.

Warning of a excessive threat to the lives of British nationals travelling to struggle or undertake humanitarian work in Ukraine, the Foreign Office warns that the UK authorities ‘s “ability to support you in these circumstances is very limited”, including: “It cannot facilitate your departure from Ukraine, your medical repatriation, or termination of your military contract.”

On Monday, The Independent revealed that Jack Lopresti, a former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, who misplaced his seat on the common election final 12 months, has now joined the Ukrainian International Legion.

The 55-year-old just isn’t in a frontline infantry unit however is finishing up help work. His army duties and focus embrace overseas relations and diplomacy, weapons procurement, and a few work with veterans and with charities working in Ukraine.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/james-wilton-russian-drone-attack-ukraine-war-b2691682.html