‘Yorkshire lad’ becomes first Brit to die fighting for Putin in suicide drone attack

A man ran away from peaceful Burnley telling his friends he was going on holiday to Romania. 10 weeks later he was dead in a trench in Ukraine as he advanced in Russia’s Frontline.

Bradley Townsend, 33, a fisherman by trade with no combat experience at all, flew to Moscow to meet with convicted racist Aiden Minnis, who has been luring Brits to become cannon fodder for Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Just over two months later he was blown up in a Ukrainian drone attack as he approached the contested city of Liman.

Announcing the death online, Minnis, the Russian propagandist and soldier originally from Chippenham, said: ‘Bradley Spencer Townsend, call sign “Badger”, our beloved comrade-in-arms went into the storm and fell on the battlefield near Liman.

‘He made the journey from Great Britain to Russia, he chose to walk in his Grandfather’s footsteps and answered the call to fight fascism.

‘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 and he wanted to help the people of Russia defeat the Nazis.

‘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.’

Thompson on arrival in Moscow was treated as a big propaganda coup – a Brit willing to die for Putin’s cause filming YouTube videos explaining his decision to fight.

He said he was fighting for Russia because Donbas miners had sent support to his own mining family during the 1980s strikes after Margaret Thatcher tried to close the,.

In a video interview in April, the 33-year-old described himself as ‘a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire’ who wanted to support Russian separatists.

He said: ‘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.’

Friends described Thompson as ‘vulnerable’ and claimed he had struggled with addiction issues, making him more susceptible to being indoctrinated into Russia’s cause.

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat had previously strongly criticised Townsend’s decision to join the Russian army.

‘This is incredibly stupid and deeply wrong. You are joining an army that is committing some of the most brutal war crimes the world has seen in decades.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for more US-made Patriot interceptor missiles in recent months as Kyiv’s stocks have diminished.

Supplies of Patriots have been diverted to the Middle East since the outbreak of war with Iran, with Ukraine receiving significantly fewer missiles this year than in previous years.

Russia has sought to capitalise on the shortage by stepping up its ballistic missile strikes, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 100 in the past three days alone.