Simon Lingard’s family says, the Ukrainian military has offered to transport his body back to the UK. He is thought to be the third British national to be killed in Ukraine.
“My Dad was an inspiration to all who knew him, a real life hero who died fighting for what he believed in,” they wrote on a fundraising page for him.
“He was loved and adored by so many a true representation of what a soldier should be.
“The Ukrainian Military have offered to bring him home to England but we need help to show him the respect and adoration he deserves by giving him THE greatest well deserved send off.”
He is believed to be the third British national to die so far in the conflict.
Jordan Gatley, 24, died in June after leaving the British Army in March. Scott Sibley, 36, died in late April, and was also a former member of the Armed Forces.
A further five Britons were released from Russian detention in Ukraine after a successful prisoner swap in September.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed Shaun Pinner, Aiden Aslin, John Harding, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill had arrived safely back on UK soil.
Tributes to ‘warrior’ and ‘top bloke’
Paying tribute to Mr Lingard on Facebook, friends described him as a “warrior” and a “real man”
Another posted: “Ohh it’s with a very heavy heart I write this but Si Lingard you were a top bloke.”
It comes after Russian troops announced they are withdrawing from the annexed region of Kherson.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the face of Ukrainian attacks near the southwestern city of the same name.
In televised comments, the general said it was no longer possible to supply Kherson city and proposed taking up defensive lines on the eastern bank of the river.
It marks one of Russia’s most significant retreats and a potential turning point in the war, now nearing the end of its ninth month.
Kherson was annexed along with three other regions – Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia – in September.
Sky News has contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for further comment.