James Wilton had never been on a battlefield before. He wasn’t a soldier. But at just 18, he found himself running for his life across an open field in Ukraine, three Russian drones circling like vultures above him.
He didn’t stand a chance.
Within minutes of his first mission, James was killed in a drone strike while trying to resupply fellow fighters. His best friend, Jason, an American volunteer who was with him when he died, is still haunted by that moment.
A Teen’s Call to War
James wasn’t the type of person you’d expect to pick up a rifle and head to war. He had just finished a two-year course in animal welfare back home in Huddersfield. But something inside him wouldn’t let him sit by and watch as Ukraine fought for survival.
At just 17, he packed his bags, said his goodbyes, and flew from Manchester to Poland before making his way to the frontline.
His father, Graham, tried to stop him. “I didn’t want him to go, but his heart was set on it,” he said. “I wish we could have swapped places he had his whole life ahead of him.”
But James had made his choice. And it would be his last.
A Mission That Turned Into a Death Trap
The assignment was simple and dangerous, but simple. James’s unit had to cross an open field to deliver supplies to other soldiers. There was no cover. No trees. Nowhere to hide.
Jason, an experienced fighter, was leading the group. They moved in pairs, 20 metres apart. James was just ahead of him.
“I could see he was scared, I was scared too,” Jason recalled. “But I kept telling him he’d be OK.”
Then James stopped.
Jason shouted: “Why are you stopping? What are you doing?”
Then came the sound. A mechanical whine in the sky.
Jason looked up. “Oh f***.”
The drone was hovering just above them, its pilot watching, deciding who to kill. Then a second one appeared. Then a third.
“We need to move!” Jason screamed.
James ran. They both did. But the drones were faster.
“I Knew He Was Gone”
The explosion came just 30 metres from safety. Jason watched in horror as his best friend was blown off his feet.
“As I bent down to grab him, another drone hovered right over me,” Jason said. “I closed my eyes and thought: ‘This is it.’ I was ready to die.”
But for some reason, the drone didn’t drop its payload. It zipped away, leaving him there, kneeling over his fallen friend.
James was dead.
Braving the Fire to Bring Him Home
Twenty minutes later, Jason went back for him. Risking the same fate, he carried his best friend’s body from the battlefield.
“I’ve seen people die out here,” he said. “But nothing prepares you for losing someone who’s close to you. I thought James and I would one day sit in a pub, laughing about old war stories. But now, he’ll only ever be a memory.”
James was cremated in Ukraine, his father travelling from England to bring his ashes home.
“I’ll always be proud of him,” Graham said. “It’s taken time to process his death, but I think it’s time his sacrifice is recognised.”
A War That Shows No Signs of Stopping
James’s story is one of many. More British volunteers have died fighting in Ukraine, their sacrifices largely unreported. Meanwhile, Russia continues to push forward along the 600-mile eastern front, despite suffering staggering losses.
Kyiv warns that if Western support weakens, Ukraine’s defences could collapse in just six months.
For James, the war lasted minutes. For the friends and family he left behind, it will never end.
