A HERO who deserted the British Army to fight for Ukraine is in line for a posthumous bravery medal after sacrificing his life to save three comrades.
Former Royal Welsh Fusilier Alexander Garms-Rizzi, 23, acted as “bait” to draw fire away from three Ukrainian troops during a frontline battle.
Doug SeeburgRoyal Welsh Fusilier Alexander Garms-Rizzi has been killed fighting for Ukraine[/caption]
Doug SeeburgHe crossed the border from Estonia to join Ukrainian forces on the battlefield[/caption]
The sniper also served as a translator and provided medical care on the frontlinesDoug Seeburg
Doug SeeburgThe Brit (left) had been jailed for 12 months after ‘risking dragging Britain into the war’[/caption]
The trio reached the safety of a bunker – though one was seriously wounded – in the bloody “meat grinder” clash with Vladimir Putin’s forces in the east of Ukraine.
But Alexander was fatally wounded by a Russian drone in the bloody “no man’s land” between the warring forces.
And his commander and comrades saluted his courage last night as they mourned the young Brit being hailed as one of Ukraine’s most valiant frontline warriors.
His grieving best pal – a 28-year-old Finnish volunteer with the call sign “Finn” – told The Sun: “He was a born fighter and died how he would have wanted – with honour while helping others.”
Alexander was on a British Army NATO exercise in Estonia when he went awol in March 2022, a month after Russia invaded.
He sent his British commander a message admitting he had crossed the border to join Ukrainian forces, declaring he had gone to fight “a great evil.”
But he returned to the UK voluntarily after two months in the trenches and was jailed for a year by a UK court martial for defying direct orders to stay put.
The Sun’s team in Ukraine learned last week that Alexander – an infantryman with “Recon Team Kilo” – had returned to the embattled nation after serving eight months of his sentence.
We arranged to interview him in a cellar cafe at Kramatorsk near the eastern frontline – but he suddenly cancelled the meeting after being sent on “an important task”.
Three days later we discovered that it had been his last mission, when his Ukrainian commander broke the news that he had fallen in battle on Monday.
Alexander – whose call sign was “Sasha” – has been confirmed dead even though it has been too dangerous to recover his body from the frontline forest where he fell.
His Ukrainian commander told The Sun yesterday: “He was a very brave guy and very experienced.
“Back in 2022, he was one of the first foreign legionnaires to come to Ukraine.
“On the day he died Sasha and three Ukrainian soldiers were in a dugout which was badly hit and collapsed.
“Sasha was trapped under logs, but the guys managed to dig him out and realised they needed to run about 500 meters to the next safe shelter.
“There were enemy drones, shelling and surveillance so Sasha suggested a plan.
“He said he would distract the drones by running in a circle while the others ran to safety – and that’s what they did.
“In the end two of the guys survived unscathed, though the other one was seriously wounded near the dugout – but Sasha didn’t make it.
“They later searched for him with drones and found his body, but it hasn’t been evacuated yet.
“He took a different path and was only about 100 metres from safety when he was hit. He died a hero.”
The Brit was described as a skilled fighter with an unshakeable sense of duty
Doug SeeburgAlexander (right) was deployed to Estonia when he went missing from a Nato operation in March 2022[/caption]
Doug SeeburgAlexander, whose call sign was Sacha, was killed in action after acting as ‘bait’[/caption]
The commander said Alexander’s body has proved impossible to recover in a forested area of the battle-scarred Kupiansk section of the frontline.
Comrades managed to reach him under cover of fog and dragged him 50 metres towards their lines but were forced to abandon the mission after coming under withering Russian fire.
The commander said: “Our guys got close and dragged his body for about 50 meters but then the fog lifted, and drones started attacking them.
“The terrain makes it impossible to carry a body safely as this is the forest – it’s too dangerous.”
The commander said Alexander was one of the most popular and enthusiastic members of his foreign legion unit – and also a master of high tech weaponry.
He had already been decorated for “Exceptional Courage” after single handedly thwarting a Russian offensive by blasting a tank with a British-supplied NLAW shoulder-launched missile.
The commander said: “He was one of the first to master NLAW rockets and used one to stop a Russian advance towards Mykolaiv.
“Sasha was the first to step up, got close to the tank, and destroyed it, stopping the attack single-handedly.
“He did this kind of thing constantly – he would selflessly fight for himself and his comrades but always with caution and skill.
“He was a machine gunner but versatile and could handle many weapons and was training to be a sniper – he had so much potential.”
Grieving comrades told yesterday how Alexander boosted morale with jokes and banter, describing the hell of frontline combat as “Jackass Ukraine” after the TV prank show.
He also kept a menagerie of pets including cats and dogs and even a family of ducklings who kept troops stocked with fresh eggs.
Close pal Finn told The Sun yesterday: “Sasha was very well liked by everyone. He saved lives – both Ukrainians and foreigners and our commanders loved him as well.
“He died doing something which was absolutely typical for him and it would not surprise me in the slightest if he was awarded a posthumous medal for bravery.
“We have lost a great fighter and a great asset – not least because he boosted morale and was always encouraging others.
“I remember one time when he was running around from dugout to the dugout, rallying the Ukrainians to come and fight when we were in the Donetsk region.
“We needed more people to come and help and he ran around holding very short but precise speeches telling them to get the f*** up and fight.
“He went on a little rampage just talking to guys saying ‘Ukraine needs you’ and it worked. None of us died in that operation.
“He was my best friend and I’m going to miss him – we are all going to miss him.”
Doug SeeburgThe fallen hero is now in line for a posthumous bravery medal[/caption]
Doug SeeburgAlexander was fatally wounded by a Russian drone[/caption]
Alexander – a fluent Russian speaker who was born in the UK but has a Russian mother and an Italian father – had helped with translation and weapons training.
He was jailed in July 2023 after a judge at Bulford Military Centre, Wilts ruled that going awol and fighting for Ukraine risked dragging the UK into a war with Russia.
But his principled stand came close to triggering a major diplomatic spat after then Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she supported Brits who decided to join the fight in Ukraine.
Further friction followed when a decorated Ukrainian war hero who fought alongside him asked Ukraine president Volodymr Zelensky to intervene.
Special forces colonel and politician Roman Kostenko said Alexander served in Ukraine under his personal command – and proved a valuable addition to his ranks.
Kostenko said the fresh-faced Brit was one of 10 foreign volunteers in an infantry regiment who helped beat back a Russian advance around Mykolaiv in spring 2022.
The colonel said: “He arrived soon after the full-scale invasion – even though he was young, he was an accomplished soldier.
“He considered he was fighting against a great evil. We had many conversations about this. It was a difficult moment, early in the war. He spent two months with us.”
Kostenko said he had appealed to Zelensky to ask Downing Street to intervene on behalf of the young Brit in view of his “moral” stand, but appeals were rejected.
He said in a letter appealing for a pardon: “He joined bravely and professionally performed combat missions in the south of Ukraine together with Ukrainian defenders.
“Despite his young age he understood the strategic importance of defending Ukraine.”
“It’s bad for Britain if Ukraine loses this war. When volunteers from the UK and US stand with us on the battlefield we feel the whole world supports us.”
Judge Advocate General Darren Reed said at Alexander’s court martial that by operating alongside Ukrainian militia, he had defied orders and created a security risk.
Sentencing him, Judge Reed said: “The order not to go to Ukraine could not have been clearer. The order was there to protect British forces and the state from being dragged into the conflict.”
Alexander went on leave in March 2022 and failed to return two weeks later, the military court heard.
When his unit managed to contact him, the soldier — – who lived in Russia until the age of 12 and had Ukrainian friends —- admitted he had gone to join the war.
Colonel Grant Davies, prosecuting, told the hearing: “In an interview he said he went over to help the Ukrainian people. He said he couldn’t just stand by and watch things unfold.”
After being arrested when he re-entered the UK, the soldier pleaded guilty to being absent without leave and to a charge of contravening standing orders.
In addition to the one-year detention, Alexander, of Tidworth Barracks, Wilts, was dismissed from the British Army by the court.
ReutersMembers of the artillery unit of the special rifle battalion of Zaporizhzhia region police fire a small multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) towards Russian troops[/caption]
EPA
PAA destroyed building in Kharkiv, Ukraine[/caption]
Ian WhittakerCombined Nato Forces, Winter training 80 miles from the Russian border in Estonia[/caption]