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The department of foreign affairs is trying to confirm the death of an Australian man who was reportedly killed while fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia last month.
According to multiple posts on social media, Russell Allan Wilson was killed on 12 December in the Donetsk region. The ABC reported that a friend of Wilson said he was killed during his final mission, and had been due to be married the week after his death.
In one post on Instagram on 19 December, a man who identifies himself as a US army veteran said Wilson “chose to stay when it would have been easier to leave”.
“He stood his ground in a place where freedom is paid for in blood, and he gave his life so others could keep theirs,” said the man, who has been contacted for comment.
“Ukraine is freer today because of him – but the world is quieter without his laugh, his stubborn courage, his presence beside us.
“We shared cold nights, exhaustion, fear we never spoke out loud, and a bond forged where words stop working. He was the kind of man you trusted with your life without thinking twice. The kind who showed up when it mattered. The kind you’re proud to call family.”
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In a statement, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was “aware of reports that an Australian has died in Ukraine” and was seeking confirmation from local authorities.
“The Australian government’s travel advice is do not travel to Ukraine.”
Australian authorities are assisting Wilson’s family.
Other social media posts referred to Wilson having served in the Australian military, and having been in Ukraine since 2023.
He had reportedly been from Gosford, on the New South Wales Central Coast, but had also lived in Brisbane.
At least eight Australians are believed to have died fighting in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The former Melbourne teacher Oscar Jenkins, who was initially reported to have been killed, is the only Australian believed to have been captured as a prisoner of war.
Weeks after he was reported to have been killed, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Russia had confirmed Jenkins was alive.
Wong said he been subject to a “sham trial” and imprisoned.
An Australian Ukrainian group has urged the Albanese government to intervene to have Jenkins included in planned prisoner swaps, warning he risks becoming a “forgotten” prisoner of Russia’s war.
