'Normal Yorkshire lad' killed by drone in Ukraine 'suicide mission' is first UK national to die fighting for Putin’s Russia
Bradley Townsend, a British national from Yorkshire, has become the first UK citizen confirmed killed while fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine. Recruited online, Townsend had no military experience and died in a drone strike in the Donetsk region.
Why it matters
The death highlights the phenomenon of foreign nationals joining the Russian war effort and the security implications of such recruitment networks.
Bradley Townsend was among a small number of UK nationals fighting for Russia in Ukraine, but he is the first known British fighter to have died on the Russian side since Putin’s forces first invaded the country in 2014.
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A man who described himself as a ‘normal Yorkshire lad’ has become the first UK national to die fighting for Vladimir Putin’s forces in Ukraine, LBC has learned.
Bradley Townsend left his home in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, in April this year, telling his family he was going to Romania, according to a friend.
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