Overview
- Ayrton Redfearn, 23, from Devon, was killed in action in the Donetsk region on May 9 while serving with a specialist unit that joined Ukraine’s forces in 2025, his mother and multiple outlets have confirmed.
- His family and former teachers said he began service in Torquay Air Cadets, enlisted in the RAF at 17, and later travelled to Ukraine to join a unit made up of ex-overseas military personnel.
- Comrades and his mother shared that Redfearn served under the callsign “Musso” and had recently been promoted to team leader, and that he was due to receive a bravery medal days after he died for saving a life.
- The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is supporting the family and is in contact with Ukrainian authorities while its public guidance warns British nationals fighting in Ukraine face a high risk of death, capture, or maltreatment.
- Reporters note Redfearn’s death fits a pattern of foreign volunteers suffering casualties in the conflict and may prompt renewed attention to consular support and government warnings for Britons considering travel to the fighting.