A fisherman from Yorkshire has become the first British national to die while fighting for Russia in Ukraine after he was killed by a drone strike.

Bradley Townsend, 33, from Barnsley, travelled to Russia in April of this year to join Putin’s army despite having no military experience.

In a social media post, Townsend stated his reason for joining was to ‘repay the favour’ to miners in Donbas who had donated a month’s wages to Yorkshire miners during strikes in the 1980s.

He described himself as ‘a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire’ who wanted to support Russian separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

The 33-year-old also wrote: ‘I came with the idea that I probably wouldn’t be able to go home. I’d definitely get persecuted if I went back. 

‘I’m not here for a suicide mission, but I understand that’s what can happen. This was my own decision, I wasn’t pushed into anything.’

Other Brits serving in the Russian Armed Forces took to social media to commemorate Townsend, with one saying the 33-year-old ‘wanted to help the people of Russia defeat the Nazis.’

Aiden Minnis added in his tribute post on Facebook: ‘I had the pleasure of spending some time with Bradley before he decided to sign his contract. We discussed the danger he would be facing, but he insisted that his mind was made up…Ultimately, he sacrificed his life for our cause.’

‘His service was brief but he blazed the brightest star. Rest in Paradise brother. ‘To die a warrior in a Holy War is to live forever’.’

Bradley Townsend, 33, from Barnsley, had travelled to Russia in April of this year to join Putin’s army

Townsend described himself as ‘a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire’ who wanted to support Russian separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region

Townsend is the first known British fighter to have died fighting for Russia since Putin’s forces first invaded Ukraine in 2014

Ben Stimson, another Brit who went to fight for Russia, also paid tribute on Telegram.

‘Bradley had been a follower of my YouTube and Telegram channels for over 2 years. I had advised him to stay in the UK and support anti NATO protests at home. He contacted me 3 months ago to say he was coming to Russia to join the army.

‘I told him just to come for a holiday. He arrived at the same time as another volunteer was on his holiday. We both told him the realities of the Special Military Operation and the dangers. I later said to Bradley he could still use his return ticket. Brad was adamant he wanted to go and fight.’

According to a Russia-linked social media account which refers to him by his callsign ‘Badger’, Townsend was killed on June 10 in a ‘storm operation’ by a remote controlled FPV drone in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The account, known for repeating Russian propaganda, described Townsend as a ‘warrior in a holy war’ who had ‘sacrificed his life for the cause’, LBC reports. 

Conservative MP for Tonbridge and former security minister Tom Tugendhat, said he was ‘very sorry for him and his family’ but that joining the Russian armed forces was ‘unbelievably stupid’.

He added: ‘It’s extremely misguided and, you know, no question about it, it’s criminal because you’re engaging in an army that is committing the most barbarous war crimes that the world has seen in decades.’

Stimson, who was jailed in the UK in 2017 after joining a Russian-backed militia in eastern Ukraine, wrote online that Townsend’s flat cap had been brought back to the UK by a friend and would be left on Ilkley Moor. 

One man who knew Townsend told LBC the fisherman struggled with his mental health and addiction in the past.

Another said the 33-year-old was a ‘normal guy’ who had been ‘indoctrinated’ by people who ‘saw his vulnerability as an opportunity to recruit him into their twisted cause.’

Townsend is the first known British fighter to have died fighting for Russia since Putin’s forces first invaded Ukraine in 2014. 

The Foreign Office told the Daily Mail: ‘We are aware of reports that a British national has died in Ukraine and are in contact with his family.’