An 18-year-old British man was killed in a Russian drone strike, just minutes into his first mission after volunteering to fight in Ukraine.
James Wilton, from Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, was 17 when he left the UK to fight against Russia, flying from Manchester to Poland, before crossing the border into Ukraine.
Wilton, who had no previous military experience before travelling to Ukraine, was killed just minutes into his first mission, on 23 July last year.
“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, told 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.”
Before boarding the plane, Wilton had spent an hour saying goodbye to his mother, Kerrie-Anne, 44, Graham told the newspaper, saying that she had also tried to dissuade her son from going to Ukraine.
Wilton, whose parents are separated, also had two sisters, Sophie, 22, and Sarah, 21. He had finished a two-year course in animal welfare and land care before deciding to travel to Ukraine.
He was cremated in Ukraine following his death on the eastern front, with his father travelling from the UK to attend the funeral.
“He was such a laid-back, polite, easy-going and likeable young man – I’ll always be proud of him. I brought his ashes back home, but might go back to scatter them there. I think that might be what he would have wanted,” his father added.
“It’s taken a while to process James’s death. 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.”
Wilton’s friend, a US volunteer fighter, a medic named only as Jason, told the Sun he was with him when he died.
“It was James’s first and last mission,” he said. “We had to cross an open field with no trees, no cover, nothing, to resupply other soldiers.
“I was team leader and there were six of us traversing in groups of two, 20 metres apart. Myself and James were the last two.”
He described seeing Wilton stop in the field, before then also noticing the drones flying 20 metres overhead.
Jason survived the attack, but lost his foot four days later, when he stepped on a landmine.
“I extracted my friend James from the battle and he died. It’s hard not getting emotional about it, but seeing that made me want to try harder to help others,” he said.
“He was the youngest in our group and we all felt protective towards him and I suppose I came to see him like a little brother.
“I think he had thought to himself ‘I’m not doing much with my life, I want to do something bigger for the greater good.’ I still miss him and I’ll never forget him.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We provided consular assistance to the family of a British man who died in Ukraine.”
