British teen volunteer James Wilton "did not stand a chance" when he was killed by a Russian drone while fighting in Ukraine, according to his best friend. The 18-year-old recruit died after being chased by three of the deadly drones.
James Wilton ’did not stand a chance’ when he was killed by a Russian drone while fighting in Ukraine, his best pal saidCredit: Doug Seeburg
Yorkshire lad James was on the front line when he was killed by a droneCredit: Doug Seeburg
Dad Graham, circled, meets his son’s comrades in Ukraine
James had flown from Manchester four months earlier aged just 17 to join the resistance against the Russian invasion despite having no previous military experience.
He was killed in an explosion minutes into his first mission.
James’s dad Graham told The Sun yesterday: “I’ll never get over this. I didn’t want him to go but his heart was set on it. He wanted to help Ukraine.
“I’ve been told bits of the story of how he died, but have struggled to deal with it and wish we could have swapped places because he had his whole life in front of him.
“Then he could have been back home with a pint, watching the darts on telly instead of me.”
Best pal Jason — a US volunteer fighter who was with James when he died and later lost his left foot in battle — told The Sun: “It was James’s first and last mission.
“We had to cross an open field with no trees, no cover, nothing, to resupply other soldiers.
“I was team leader and there were six of us traversing in groups of two, 20 metres apart. Myself and James were the last two.
“I was the last man in the group. I was telling him to stay 20 metres ahead of me. I could see he was scared and I was scared too, but I told him he was going to be OK.
“We had heavy, 60 kilo packs. When we reached halfway across the field he suddenly stopped.
“I shouted after him ‘Why are you stopping, what are you doing?’ and he didn’t respond.
“Then I heard it — a buzz in the air above us — and thought: ‘Oh f***.’ It took me two or three seconds to spot it, then I saw it and realised we were in the worst possible situation we could be in — in an open field with nowhere to run.
“I screamed at him: ‘We need to move, we need to move!’ Then the drone moved and began hovering 20 metres above me.
“I could tell it was a ‘drop drone’ armed with a bomb and its pilot was trying to decide who to kill — me or James.
“He wanted us closer together so he could kill both of us with one bomb. Then another drone appeared. I told him I was going to start shooting then he turned and said: ‘I’m going to run.’
“We both started sprinting with two drones on top of us — then a third one appeared.
The Sun’s Nick Parker and hero Jason, who lost his left foot in battleCredit: Doug Seeburg
Putin’s forces continue to make gains along the 600-mile eastern front, despite huge Russian casualty figuresCredit: EPA
“Once the drone was on him, James never stood a chance.
“He was only about 30 metres from the trench line when I saw the drone explode.
"As I bent down to grab him, one of the other drones appeared ten metres above my head and I closed my eyes and thought: ‘Oh s***! Now I’m going to die.’
"I felt a calm moment when I resigned myself to it and held on to my friend waiting for it to happen.
“But after five seconds it just zipped away and left me there — I still have no idea why.”
Medic Jason was living and working in London as a medical translator before volunteering for Ukraine’s 2nd International Legion.
I think he had thought to himself ‘I’m not doing much with my life, I want to do something bigger for the greater good.’ I still miss him and I’ll never forget him
Jason
He braved the drone menace again 20 minutes later to retrieve James’s body.
He said: “I’ve seen people die out here. I’ve killed two Russian soldiers myself, but nothing prepares you for losing someone who’s close to you.
“I knew James was going to be a lifelong friend and that one day we’d laugh about old war stories over a pint in a pub back home.
“But now he’s gone and will only ever be a memory.”
James, from Huddersfield, West Yorks, was cremated in Ukraine following his death on the eastern front on July 23 last year.
His death has gone unreported until now. He is feared to be among more British volunteers whose sacrifice has gone “under the radar”.
James’s dad, a trade counter assistant at a flooring company, travelled from England to the funeral and met Jason, along with his son’s foreign fighter comrades from all over the world.
Jason is currently recovering at Lviv’s Superhumans Centre in Ukraine — a charity-funded specialist centre rehabilitating amputees and war wounded.
After witnessing James’s death, he fought on and managed to evacuate three more wounded men, who all survived.
But he stepped on a landmine and lost his left foot below the knee four days later.
Jason said: “I extracted my friend James from the battle and he died. It’s hard not getting emotional about it, but seeing that made me want to try harder to help others.
“He was the youngest in our group and we all felt protective towards him and I suppose I came to see him like a little brother.
He was the youngest in our group and we all felt protective towards him and I suppose I came to see him like a little brother
Jason
“I think he had thought to himself ‘I’m not doing much with my life, I want to do something bigger for the greater good.’ I still miss him and I’ll never forget him.”
James had decided to take time out after finishing a two-year course in animal welfare and land care. He had no military training in the UK but was given a crash course by Ukrainian instructors and knew how to handle weapons, Jason said.
James had two sisters, Sophie, 22, and Sarah, 21.
Dad Graham split in 2009 from James’s mum Kerrie-Anne, 44, who tried in vain to talk her son out of travelling to the war zone.
Graham said: “He met his mum for an hour to say goodbye, then I drove him to Manchester Airport for the flight to Poland and he travelled overland to Ukraine.
“He was such a laid back, polite, easy-going and likeable young man — I’ll always be proud of him. I brought his ashes back home, but might go back to scatter them there. I think that might be what he would have wanted.
“It’s taken a while to process James’s death. But I think it’s time that some kind of public tribute was paid and it’s good to be finally talking about what happened.”
It comes as Vladimir Putin’s forces continue to make gains along the 600-mile eastern front, despite huge casualty figures.
Senior figures in Kyiv warn their front line could collapse in just six months as Putin sacrifices more troops.
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