A former soldier in the British Army has been killed fighting against Vladimir Putin’s troops in Ukraine after a Russian drone dropped a grenade on his position.
Jake Waddington, 34, reportedly fought in some of the bloodiest battles alongside Ukraine’s soldiers, including skirmishes in Donbas’ Bakhmut and other rural areas.
The former Lance Corporal in the Royal Anglian Regiment served in Ukraine’s International Legion for over a year.
The former Durham University student was killed on Monday when a Russian drone dropped a grenade on his position.
He was reportedly just yards away from a Russian trench where he and another soldier were collecting intelligence, reports claim.
A second soldier survived the explosion but remains in critical condition.
Waddington, from Cambridge, served in the Army as a member of the Second Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment.
He was set for deployment in Afghanistan but voluntarily withdrew from the Army when he suffered an epileptic seizure.
Another seizure in 2022 scuppered his attempt to enlist as an Officer Cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, forcing him to be medically discharged.
His former colleagues have said have described him as “a good lad” and “super reliable”.
They added that Waddington was “a great help to all in the troop. It was a real shame he ever got discharged.”
He is not the only former Brit to die on the battlefield in Ukraine.
In November, 22-year-old Callum Tindal-Draper was killed while fighting with the 4th International Legion.
He had been defending an observation post that came under Russian fire.
