Hero ex-Brit Army sniper, 23, dies on bloody Ukraine frontline sacrificing his life to draw drone fire from comrades

A HERO who deserted the British Army to combat for Ukraine is successful enactment for a posthumous bravery medal aft sacrificing his beingness to prevention 3 comrades.

Former Royal Welsh Fusilier Alexander Garms-Rizzi, 23, acted arsenic “bait” to gully occurrence distant from 3 Ukrainian troops during a frontline battle.

The trio reached the information of a bunker - though 1 was earnestly wounded - successful the bloody “meat grinder” clash with Vladimir Putin’s forces successful the eastbound of Ukraine.

But Alexander was fatally wounded by a Russian drone successful the bloody “no man’s land” betwixt the warring forces.

And his commandant and comrades saluted his courageousness past nighttime arsenic they mourned the young Brit being hailed arsenic 1 of Ukraine’s astir valiant frontline warriors.

His grieving champion pal - a 28-year-old Finnish unpaid with the telephone motion “Finn” - told The Sun: “He was a calved combatant and died however helium would person wanted - with honour portion helping others.”

Alexander was connected a British Army NATO workout successful Estonia erstwhile helium went awol successful March 2022, a period aft Russia invaded.

He sent his British commandant a connection admitting helium had crossed the borderline to articulation Ukrainian forces, declaring helium had gone to combat “a large evil.”

But helium returned to the UK voluntarily aft 2 months successful the trenches and was jailed for a twelvemonth by a UK court martial for defying nonstop orders to enactment put.

The Sun’s squad successful Ukraine learned past week that Alexander - an infantryman with “Recon Team Kilo” - had returned to the embattled federation aft serving 8 months of his sentence.

We arranged to interrogation him successful a cellar cafe astatine Kramatorsk adjacent the eastbound frontline - but helium abruptly cancelled the gathering aft being sent connected “an important task”.

Three days aboriginal we discovered that it had been his past mission, erstwhile his Ukrainian commandant broke the news that helium had fallen successful conflict connected Monday.

Alexander - whose telephone motion was “Sasha” - has been confirmed dormant adjacent though it has been excessively unsafe to retrieve his assemblage from the frontline wood wherever helium fell.

His Ukrainian commandant told The Sun yesterday: “He was a precise brave feline and precise  experienced.

“Back successful 2022, helium was 1 of the archetypal overseas legionnaires to travel to Ukraine.

“On the time helium died Sasha and 3 Ukrainian soldiers were successful a dugout which was severely deed and collapsed.

“Sasha was trapped nether logs, but the guys managed to excavation him retired and realised they needed to tally astir 500 meters to the next harmless shelter.

“There were force drones, shelling and surveillance truthful Sasha suggested a plan.

“He said helium would distract the drones by moving successful a ellipse portion the others ran to information - and that’s what they did.

“In the extremity 2 of the guys survived unscathed, though the different 1 was earnestly wounded adjacent the dugout - but Sasha didn’t marque it.

“They aboriginal searched for him with drones and recovered his body, but it hasn’t been evacuated yet.

“He took a antithetic way and was lone astir 100 metres from information erstwhile helium was hit. He died a hero.”

The commandant said Alexander’s assemblage has proved intolerable to retrieve successful a forested country of the battle-scarred Kupiansk conception of the frontline.

Comrades managed to scope him nether screen of fog and dragged him 50 metres towards their lines but were forced to wantonness the ngo aft coming nether withering Russian fire.

The commandant said: “Our guys got adjacent and dragged his assemblage for astir 50 meters but past the fog lifted, and drones started attacking them.

“The terrain makes it intolerable to transportation a assemblage safely arsenic this is the wood - it’s excessively dangerous.”

The commandant said Alexander was 1 of the astir fashionable and enthusiastic members of his overseas legion portion - and besides a maestro of precocious tech weaponry.

He had already been decorated for “Exceptional Courage” aft azygous handedly thwarting a Russian violative by blasting a vessel with a British-supplied NLAW shoulder-launched missile.

The commandant said: “He was 1 of the archetypal to maestro NLAW rockets and utilized 1 to halt a Russian beforehand towards Mykolaiv.

“Sasha was the archetypal to measurement up, got adjacent to the tank, and destroyed it, stopping the onslaught single-handedly.

“He did this benignant of happening perpetually - helium would selflessly combat for himself and his comrades but ever with caution and skill.

“He was a instrumentality gunner but versatile and could grip galore weapons and was grooming to beryllium a sniper - helium had truthful overmuch potential.”

Grieving comrades told yesterday however Alexander boosted morale with jokes and banter, describing the hellhole of frontline combat arsenic “Jackass Ukraine” aft the TV prank show.

He besides kept a menagerie of pets including cats and dogs and adjacent a household of ducklings who kept troops stocked with caller eggs.

Close pal Finn told The Sun yesterday: “Sasha was precise good liked by everyone. He saved lives - some Ukrainians and foreigners and our commanders loved him arsenic well.

“He died doing thing which was perfectly emblematic for him and it would not astonishment maine successful the slightest if helium was awarded a posthumous medal for bravery.

“We person mislaid a large combatant and a large plus - not slightest due to the fact that helium boosted morale and was ever encouraging others.

“I retrieve 1 clip erstwhile helium was moving astir from dugout to the dugout, rallying the Ukrainians to travel and combat erstwhile we were successful the Donetsk region.

“We needed much radical to travel and assistance and helium ran astir holding precise abbreviated but precise speeches telling them to get the f*** up and fight.

“He went connected a small rampage conscionable talking to guys saying ‘Ukraine needs you’ and it worked. None of america died successful that operation.

“He was my champion person and I’m going to miss him - we are each going to miss him.”

Alexander - a fluent Russian talker who was calved successful the UK but has a Russian parent and an Italian begetter  - had helped with translation and weapons training.

He was jailed successful July 2023 aft a justice astatine Bulford Military Centre, Wilts ruled that going awol and warring for Ukraine risked dragging the UK into a warfare with Russia.

But his principled basal came adjacent to triggering a large diplomatic spat aft past Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she supported Brits who decided to articulation the combat successful Ukraine.

Further friction followed erstwhile a decorated Ukrainian war hero who fought alongside him asked Ukraine president Volodymr Zelensky to intervene.

Special forces colonel and person Roman Kostenko said Alexander served successful Ukraine nether his idiosyncratic bid - and proved a invaluable summation to his ranks.

Kostenko said the fresh-faced Brit was 1 of 10 overseas volunteers successful an infantry regiment who helped bushed backmost a Russian beforehand astir Mykolaiv successful spring 2022.

The colonel said: "He arrived soon aft the full-scale penetration - adjacent though helium was young, helium was an accomplished soldier.

"He considered helium was warring against a large evil. We had galore conversations astir this. It was a hard moment, aboriginal successful the war. He spent 2 months with us."

Kostenko said helium had appealed to Zelensky to inquire Downing Street to intervene connected behalf of the young Brit successful presumption of his “moral” stand, but appeals were rejected.

He said successful a missive appealing for a pardon: “He joined bravely and professionally performed combat missions successful the southbound of Ukraine unneurotic with Ukrainian defenders.

“Despite his young property helium understood the strategical value of defending Ukraine."

"It's atrocious for Britain if Ukraine loses this war. When volunteers from the UK and US basal with america connected the battlefield we consciousness the full satellite supports us.”

Judge Advocate General Darren Reed said astatine Alexander’s court martial that by operating alongside Ukrainian militia, helium had defied orders and created a information risk.

Sentencing him, Judge Reed said: "The bid not to spell to Ukraine could not person been clearer. The bid was determination to support British forces and the authorities from being dragged into the conflict."

Alexander went connected permission successful March 2022 and failed to instrumentality 2 weeks later, the subject tribunal heard.

When his portion managed to interaction him, the worker — - who lived successful Russia until the property of 12 and had Ukrainian friends —- admitted helium had gone to articulation the war.

Colonel Grant Davies, prosecuting, told the hearing: "In an interrogation helium said helium went implicit to assistance the Ukrainian people. He said helium couldn't conscionable basal by and ticker things unfold."

After being arrested erstwhile helium re-entered the UK, the worker pleaded blameworthy to being absent without permission and to a complaint of contravening lasting orders.

In summation to the one-year detention, Alexander, of Tidworth Barracks, Wilts, was dismissed from the British Army by the court.