A volunteer soldier has develop into one among the youngest Brits to die in Ukraine after being killed by a Russian drone.
18-year-old James Wilton, from Huddersfield, Yorkshire, flew to Ukraine when he was only 17 to assist fight against Vladimir Putin, with no experience.
After receiving training, he was sent to the frontline, where he died during his first mission.
James and his friend Jason, a US volunteer, had been sent with a bunch to resupply soldiers and were tasked with crossing an empty field.
The pair were halfway across once they noticed Russian drones buzzing above them, in line with The Sun.
‘I could tell it was a ‘drop drone’ armed with a bomb and its pilot was trying to make your mind up who to kill — me or James,’ Jason said.
‘He wanted us closer together so he could kill each of us with one bomb. Then one other drone appeared. I told him I used to be going to start out shooting then he turned and said: ‘I’m going to run.’
‘We each began sprinting with two drones on top of us — then a 3rd one appeared.’
The drone ultimately killed James, and Jason later retrieved his friend’s body from the battlefield.
‘I knew James was going to be a lifelong friend and that at some point we’d laugh about old war stories over a pint in a pub back home,’ Jason added. ‘But now he’s gone and can only ever be a memory.’
After James’ death in July last yr, he was cremated and his father flew from England to retrieve his son’s stays.
Dad Graham said of his son: ‘He was such a laid back, polite, easy-going and likeable young man — I’ll at all times be pleased with him.
‘I brought his ashes back home but might return to scatter them there. I believe that is perhaps what he would have wanted.
‘It’s taken some time to process James’s death. But I believe it’s time that some type of public tribute was paid and it’s good to be finally talking about what happened.’
One other British man was killed while fighting for Ukraine’s International Legion last yr – his body was present in water together with his hands tied behind his back.
Jordan Chadwick, 31, from Burnley, Lancashire travelled from the UK to hitch the fight against Russia in October 2022.
The previous Scots guard desired to ‘support freedom’ and use his skills to ‘assist’, his mother Anna Chadwick told the broadcaster.
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