Britain's youngest fighter in Ukraine was killed by a Russian drone attack during his first combat mission last July.
James Wilton, 18, from Huddersfield, died while delivering supplies to the front line with a group of international fighters when he was struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle just 30m from safety after being chased across an open field.
"Once the drone was on him, James never stood a chance. It was James' first and last mission," said Jason, a US volunteer who was with Wilton when he died.
The Foreign Office confirmed they "provided consular assistance to the family of a British man who died in Ukraine".
James Wilton died while delivering supplies to the front line
PA
The group had been carrying 60kg packs and moving in pairs when they were detected.
"We had to cross an open field with no trees, no cover, nothing, to resupply other soldiers," Jason recalled as he explained that his group were traversing in groups of two, spaced 20m apart.
"Myself and James were the last two," he said, describing the moments before the fatal strike on July 23 - mere months after Wilton had flown from Manchester to join the fight against Russian forces.
Before leaving for Ukraine, Wilton had completed a two-year course in animal welfare and land care.
Despite having no prior military experience, he received crash course training from Ukrainian instructors on weapons handling.
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He was subsequently posted to Ukraine's Second International Legion four months before his death.
Although Graham Wilton had asked his son not to go to Ukraine, the teenager was determined to help.
"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," Wilton told The Sun.
"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."
Wilton later travelled to Ukraine for his son's cremation and is considering returning to scatter his ashes.
Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to the boy and thanked his parents for "bringing up such a man" on Monday.
James Wilton is among at least 16 Britons known to have been killed in the conflict since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, former British Army sniper Alexander Garms-Rizzi, 23, died while saving fellow soldiers.
Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to the boy and thanked his parents for "bringing up such a man" on Monday
REUTERS
Garms-Rizzi - who served with The Royal Welsh - acted as "bait" to distract Russian forces, allowing three Ukrainian troops to escape.
He was fatally struck by a Russian drone in "no man's land" while running in circles to draw fire away from his comrades.
In November, British volunteer Callum Tindal-Draper, 22, from Cornwall, was killed defending an observation point from Russian forces.
"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," he said.
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