Drone attack kills youngest British fighter in Ukraine minutes into first mission

A Russian drone attack killed a British teenager on his first combat mission after joining the Ukrainian army.

James Wilton, who had recently turned 18 and was from Huddersfield, is the youngest Briton to have died defending Ukraine from Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

While walking across a field with a group of international fighters delivering supplies to the front line on July 23 last year, he was spotted and chased by three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Just 30m from safety, he was caught by one of them, which exploded. The blast killed him, a former comrade told The Sun newspaper.

‘First and last mission’

Jason, a US volunteer who was with Wilton when he died, said: “Once the drone was on him, James never stood a chance.

“It was James’s first and last mission.”

The group had been carrying 60kg packs and were moving in pairs when they were detected.

Jason 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, 20m apart. Myself and James were the last two.”

Confirming his death, the Foreign Office said it “provided consular assistance to the family of a British man who died in Ukraine”.

Four months before his death, Wilton flew from Manchester to Ukraine to join the fight against Russian forces.

Before leaving, he had taken time out after finishing a two-year course in animal welfare and land care.

Wilton had no prior military experience, but received a crash course from Ukrainian instructors on how to handle weapons before he was posted to Ukraine’s Second International Legion.

‘I’ll never get over this’

Graham Wilton, his father, had asked his son not to go, but Wilton was resolute in his determination to fight for Ukraine.

Mr Wilton told The Sun: “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.

“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.”

Mr Wilton, who drove his son to Manchester Airport for his journey to the war zone, later travelled to Ukraine for his son’s cremation and is now considering returning to scatter his ashes.

He said: “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.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, at least 16 Britons are known to have been killed in the conflict.

Last month, ex-British Army sniper Alexander Garms-Rizzi, 23, was killed in Ukraine while trying to save his fellow soldiers.

Garms-Rizzi, formerly of The Royal Welsh, acted as “bait” to distract Russian forces, which allowed three Ukrainian troops to escape.

He was fatally struck by a Russian drone in “no man’s land” while running in circles to draw fire away from his comrades.

Last November, another British volunteer, Callum Tindal-Draper, 22, from Cornwall, was killed in action. He died while defending an observation point targeted by Russian forces.