British volunteer killed by Russian drone strike one month into Ukraine deployment

Alan Robert Williams, 35, from Moreton, Merseyside, died during his first mission in the Kharkiv Oblast on 2 July, six miles from the Russian border. He had signed his contract with a Ukrainian unit on 10 June after leaving for Ukraine on 7 May.

His wife Stephanie Boyce-Williams, 40, confirmed his death following contact from his military unit. The Telegraph reported, citing its sources, that Williams was targeted by four Russian drones that dropped a mortar 20 feet from his team near the recaptured village of Lyptsi.

"His companions said he was immediately unresponsive and they had to leave his body while they fled the ambush," according to reports from his unit.

Williams, a former site manager for a school, had lost his job earlier this year and was subsequently admitted to hospital after struggling with his mental health. After discharge, he decided to volunteer for Ukraine because he "couldn't sit back and watch," his wife said.

"We spent time trying to convince him not to go, telling him how it would affect us and how it would impact our daughter, and everything else back home," Boyce-Williams told BBC Radio Merseyside. "But he was such a strong-willed man that once he got something in his mind there was no way you were changing it. He wanted to help civilians, especially the children."

The couple's 12-year-old daughter had also pleaded with her father not to leave for Ukraine.

A Foreign Office spokesman said they were "supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities."

Williams had three children, including two older children from his wife's previous relationships. Boyce-Williams, who works as a civil servant and call handler, said she remains "in limbo" awaiting official confirmation.

There are currently around 1,500 to 2,000 foreign soldiers actively fighting in Ukraine. Ukrainian government claimed earlier of over 20,000 volunteers; many foreigners serve in specialized units or affiliated brigades, with total foreign involvement typically estimated under 4,000.