An Australian man has been remembered for his ‘stubborn courage’ after he was killed fighting in Ukraine just one week before he was due to get married.
Russell Allan Wilson was killed in action on December 12 while on his final mission in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
It’s understood Mr Wilson, who is from Gosford on NSW’s Central Coast, had travelled to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Investigations into the soldier’s death remain ongoing, with unconfirmed reports on social media suggesting he was killed during an attempt to break through a ‘Russian encirclement’ near the city of Pokrovsk.
He had been fighting for Ukraine ever since.
‘Russ was supposed to get married about a week after he was killed. It was his final mission before leave,’ a friend of Mr Wilson’s told the ABC.
Mr Wilson has been remembered in a series of tributes that described him as someone who hadn’t died for ‘glory, medals or headlines’.
‘He died because he believed some things are worth standing for – even when the cost is everything,’ one person wrote online.
It’s believed Russell Allan Wilson was killed on December 12 while fighting in Ukraine
Reports suggest it was meant to be his ‘final mission’ before he went on leave to get married
Mr Wilson was reportedly serving in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine when he was killed
‘Ukraine is freer today because of him – but the world is quieter without his laugh, his stubborn courage, his presence beside us.’
Although information about Mr Wilson’s life in Australia is limited, its understood he also lived in Brisbane before he moved overseas.
It’s understood Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is providing consular assistance to Mr Wilson’s family.
A DFAT spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia it ‘is aware of reports that an Australian has died in Ukraine and is seeking confirmation from local authorities’.
‘The Australian Government’s travel advice is do not travel to Ukraine,’ they said.
At least eight Australians are believed to have died fighting in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began.
Oscar Jenkins – a former teacher from Melbourne – is believed to be the only Australian to have been captured by Russia as a prisoner of war.
In May, Mr Jenkins was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on mercenary charges in a trial described as a ‘sham’ by Australia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong.
