After battling against Russia for a year, a British volunteer has been killed.
The Bristol resident Jay Morais, according to The Telegraph, took part in fierce battle in the Donbas cities of Severodonetsk and Bakhmut.
The 52-year-old’s passing was verified on Tuesday night by the International Legion of Ukraine.
After fighting against Russian invaders in late February, it is believed he passed away in a Kharkiv hospital.
Mr Morais previously said the adrenaline he got from fighting stopped him feeling scared, adding he was not brave just ‘wired different’.
His fiancee, Lidiya Martynova, said a funeral was held in Ukraine with military honours.
Half of his ashes were laid at a cemetery in Kyiv, while the rest were sent home to his family members in Britain.
Paying tribute, Ms Martynova said: ‘Jay was a very special guy, beautiful and crazy at the same time.
‘He was a professional soldier, but he would always say that it wasn’t important how many enemies he’d killed, but how many people he’d saved.
‘I still can’t really believe he is dead. He was planning to stay here in Ukraine once the war was over to start a new life here.’
Mr Morais is believed to be the fifth UK citizen to die while serving as a volunteer with Ukraine’s armed forces.
He previously spent time in the French Foreign Legion, serving in Kosovo and the Ivory Coast.
Prior to this he was a sales manager at mobile firm Three.
Tony Hackett, a former colleague at Three, added: ‘He was a good guy, and when the war started, he just felt he had to help, given the training he’d had in the Foreign Legion.’
