Brit, 23, killed in Ukraine after joining specialist unit supporting army
23-year-old British Ayrton Redfearn was killed in an operation in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
He died on May 9.
Mr Redfearn joined a specialist unit supporting the Ukrainian army in 2025 from Devon, his mother Natasha said. BBCHe added that he “lived in fear of the police coming to my door with bad news.”
“This fear became reality on the evening of May 11, and mine and Ayrton’s 10-year-old brother’s world fell apart,” he said.
Mr Redfearn was a Torquay Air Cadet as a child and joined the RAF at 17 before heading abroad.
His mother said: “We are trying to have just 1% of Ayrton’s strength, courage and bravery and if we can do that it will help us finally come to terms with our life without him.
“I am so grateful for all the praise, messages and support from those who knew Ayrton and strangers alike.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Ukraine and are in contact with the Ukrainian authorities.”
British citizens fighting in Ukraine face a high risk of ill-treatment, the FCDO warns.
The website states: “British citizens fighting in Ukraine have been killed or captured. British citizens carrying out humanitarian work have also been detained by Russian authorities. The risk to life or ill-treatment is high.”
