Sky News reports:
A former fisherman from South Yorkshire is believed to have become the first British citizen to die fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
Barnsley man Bradley Townsend is thought to have been killed on 10 June by a suicide drone near Lyman in the Donetsk region, his comrades said.
"We discussed the danger he would be facing, but he insisted that his mind was made up and he wanted to help the people of Russia defeat the Nazis."
Vladimir Putin and others in his government have falsely claimed throughout the war that Ukraine is under "Nazi control".
Falsely? Really?
It seems to be Sky News that is falsely claiming that Ukraine is not under 'Nazi control':
- torchlit parades in Lviv
- Nazi symbolism used by military units
- Maidan protestors murdered by neo-Nazi right-wing nationalists
- Zelensky importing and re-burying dead Nazis in Ukraine
- Nazi collaborators and Jew-killers celebrated in Ukraine with statues and street names
- Use of Third Reich naming - such as 'Freya' for the missile defence shield
We all know that Ukraine is not the Fourth Reich - whatever Putin may claim - as the EU is the one that is trying to claim that moniker.
But the country is most certainly more under Nazi control than any other European country, irrespective of having a Jewish president (who was also threatened by ultra-nationalists) which is the point that matters.
This kind of veneration of Nazis would simply not be tolerated in any other European country, especially Germany, so why is it tolerated in Ukraine?
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat told the radio station he was "very sorry for him and his family" but added that joining up with Russia's army was "unbelievably stupid".
"It's extremely misguided. And, you know, it's 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."
Well that's clearly debatable, especially in the context of the ongoing Gazacide, but if former UK security minister Tom Tugendhat would be happy to live in a country that celebrates Nazis, many people - for example many Polish people - would not.
That's why British people have historically fought fascism in their country (Cable Street etc.).
But you wouldn't expect a politician to remember that, especially when it's not convenient.