A man has become the eighth British national to die in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
The identity of the individual is not yet known but the UK Foreign Office said their family has been informed.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The man is believed to be the eighth British national to have died in Ukraine since the war began.
A number of British veterans and Britons without combat experience have travelled to Ukraine to join the resistance against the Russian invasion. A small number of serving British personnel are also believed to have gone absent without leave to travel to the war-torn country.
Britons Helping Ukraine
On Jan. 6 this year, Andrew Bagshaw, 47, and Christopher Parry, 28, went missing while heading to the town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region of the country, where heavy fighting was reported.
A few days later, the Russian military contractor Wagner Group said that one of the two Britons had been found dead.
On Jan. 24, Parry’s family confirmed that both men had been killed, in a statement released through the UK Foreign Office.
Four of those—Aiden Aslin, John Harding, Andrew Hill, and Shaun Pinner—had been captured while fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces. The other—Dylan Healy—had been volunteering in Ukraine as an aid worker.
Another British aid worker—Paul Urey—reportedly died in detention in July after being captured by pro-Russian separatists. The Ukrainian government said in early September that Urey’s body, which had been returned, had “signs of possible unspeakable torture.”
On Aug. 24, British national Craig Mackintosh was reportedly killed while volunteering as a medic in Ukraine.
In April, British veteran Scott Sibley was reportedly killed in Ukraine while fighting against Russian forces.
Meanwhile, at least five other Americans are known to have died fighting in Ukraine, according to State Department statements and reports from individual families.
New Offensive
The latest death comes after British military chiefs declared Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops have been commanded to advance in “most sectors” but are struggling to achieve a major breakthrough on the Ukrainian front line.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Tuesday that the Wagner Group mercenaries have likely made “further small gains” around the northern outskirts of the heavily-contested town of Bakhmut.
But the Ukrainian defence is continuing and the Russian advance to the south “has likely made little progress.”
Further north, in Kreminna-Svatove, the MoD said the Russians are making “continuous offensive efforts” but on “too small a scale to achieve a significant breakthrough.”
“Overall, the current operational picture suggests that Russian forces are being given orders to advance in most sectors, but that they have not massed sufficient offensive combat power on any one axis to achieve a decisive effect,” the MoD said.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC on Wednesday that Russian troops are suffering “almost First World War levels of attrition and with success rates of a matter of metres” in Ukraine.
Asked if he is concerned that Britain’s support for Ukraine is “weakening” its own army, Wallace said: “Not at all, and in fact I would say it is actually the opposite.”
He said: “Helping Ukraine defeat Russia in Ukraine actually adds to our own security at home and as the Ukrainians themselves say: ‘We are fighting not just for our freedom, but for your freedom in Europe.’”
