British military volunteer killed in Ukraine after a year on the front line fighting Putin's invasion forces | The Sun

A BRITISH military volunteer has been killed in Ukraine after a year fighting Vladimir Putin's forces on the frontline.

Jay Morais, from Bristol, took part in some of the bloodiest battles in the east of the war-torn country, including fighting in the besieged city of Bakhmut.

But Ukraine's International Legion on Tuesday confirmed the 52-year-old died in hospital in Kharkiv in February, reports The Telegraph.

A spokesman for the unit, set up by Volodymyr Zelensky last year, said: "Sadly, Jay Morais has died in the line of duty."

Mr Morais briefly spoke to the newspaper last year about his time fighting in Severodonetsk, Donbas, in which several of his comrades were killed or hurt.

Ukraine fought tooth and nail to keep hold of the city, but it eventually fell to Russian forces after around four months of battle last year.

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Mr Morais told how during the battle, he had to "run for my bloody life" as he was stalked by a Russian tank.

He said he had gone to Ukraine to stop Russia "doing what it likes".

During his time in Ukraine, he met humanitarian volunteer Lidiya Martynova and they became engaged.

The 34-year-old said Mr Morais was planning to "start a new life" in Ukraine once the war was over.

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She told the outlet: "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."

It is reported Mr Morais previously served in Kosovo and the Ivory Coast in the French Foreign Legion, before returning to Britain in 2007.

Mr Morais' cause of death has not been confirmed, but it is understood he had been fighting in Bakhmut.

Horrifying scenes in the battered city have been described as a "meat grinder" as Ukrainians fiercely try to defend their land.

It is understood Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties in the bloody battle, with Zelensky also losing a lot of troops.

An FCDO spokesman told The Sun: “We supported the family of a British man following his death in Ukraine”

At least eight other Brits are reported to have been killed in Ukraine, including paramedic Jonathan Shenkin.

The 45-year-old from Glasgow was described as a "hero" by his family who said he "made the ultimate sacrifice" by standing up to Putin's troops before his death in December.

Meanwhile, another two Brits killed while trying to help people evacuate from fierce fighting in Ukraine were recovered earlier this year in a prisoner swap.

Ukraine exchanged 63 jailed Russians captured during Putin's invasion as part of the swap.

Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, were undertaking voluntary work in Soledar, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, when their vehicle was reportedly hit by a shell.

Meanwhile, Special Forces Support Group and Afghan War veteran Simon Lingard was killed in action when his trench was hit by a Russian shell.

Last April, Brit dad Scott Silbey was named as the first UK casualty in Ukraine.

The British Army veteran, 36, was praised by former comrades as "the bravest person" they knew.

In June, British ex-soldier Jordan Gatley was killed in the city of Severodonetsk.

Jordan, who left the British Army in March, has been hailed as "truly a hero" after he was killed.

Volunteer medic Craig Stanley Mackintosh was killed while out on patrol near Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv.

The 48-year-old landscape gardener and dad-of-four served in the Territorial Army for seven years.

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