News | Mail Online
· collected 2026-08-25 · by Mark Lister, Perkin Amalaraj
Maureen, an NHS care support worker and mother of Bradley Townsend, reports that her son told her he was going to visit Romania, not fight in Ukraine, before his death on June 10 in a drone strike. The 33-year-old British citizen had secretly joined the Russian forces in April, under the call sign "Badger", and featured in a video for the Russian International Volunteers Association, describing himself as a "normal working-class lad from Yorkshire". Russia is refusing to co-operate with the British Government to allow Bradley's body to be repatriated back to the UK. Maureen and her family are desperate for answers and want to lay him to rest in the UK, but are being made to suffer by the Kremlin.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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The mother of the first British citizen to die fighting for Russia has revealed that her son told her he was going to Romania, not the front lines in Ukraine.
Bradley Townsend, 33, was killed in combat after leaving his hometown of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, to enlist in Vladimir Putin's war.
asserted
Townsend → see → war
The keen fisherman – with no previous military experience – had been fighting on the front line while in Lyman, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on June 10, when he was hit in a drone strike.
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he → fight → strike
Today, his mother Maureen, an NHS care support worker, told the Daily Mail that her son did not tell her he was going to fight for Russia, instead telling her that he was visiting Romania.
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he → tell → Romania
She said his family are desperate for answers and want to lay him to rest in the UK.
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family → say → UK
But she added that Russia is refusing to co-operate with the British Government to allow his body to be repatriated back to the UK, deepening their suffering.
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body → add → suffering
Townsend – whose call sign was 'Badger' – secretly packed his bags for Russia on April 1.
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sign → pack → April
It was only after he featured in a video on April 4 for the Russian International Volunteers Association that Maureen and his two siblings learned he had joined the Russian ranks.
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he → feature → ranks
In the video Townsend described himself as a 'normal working-class lad from Yorkshire'.
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Townsend → describe → Yorkshire
Bradley Townsend, 33, from Barnsley, South Yorskhire, travelled to Russia in April to join Putin's army
Townsend is the first known British fighter to have died fighting for Russia since Putin's forces first invaded Ukraine in 2014
His mother said: 'He was going to go travelling for a year, and I was glad about that because he had two failed relationships.
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he → travel → relationships
That was sad, they were lovely girls, but it just didn't work out, and he wanted to do something different and he said "I'm going to go travelling".
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I → work → travelling
He had claimed he was visiting Romania and posted pictures of his travels.
'
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he → claim → travels
He phoned me up and told me he was not in the country he said he was going to be in.
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he → phone → country
He said he was going to Romania.
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he → say → Romania
And I believed him, because he has friends from work that he's met.
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he → believe → that
But the next thing he had phoned me up and told me he is in Russia.
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he → phone → Russia
I said "what are you doing there?"
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you → say → what
And then it all came out and I asked him "you're joking?"
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you → come → him
'I thought he was joking with me.
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he → think → me
The pictures that he posted.
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he → post → that
My son put them into Google to check where he was because he didn't think it looked like Romania.
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it → put → Romania
Townsend trained as a joiner after leaving school and had no interest in enlisting as a squaddie in the British Army.
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Townsend → train → Army
His family has no Russian connections whatsoever.
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family → have → connections
In a social media post, Townsend said his reason for joining was to 'repay the favour' to miners in Donbas who had donated a month's wages to striking Yorkshire miners in the 1980s.
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who → say → 1980s
He added: 'I came with the idea that I probably wouldn't be able to go home.
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I → add → idea
I'd definitely get persecuted if I went back.
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I → persecute → ?
Townsend described himself as 'a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire' who wanted to support Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donbas region
'
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who → describe → region
I'm not here for a suicide mission, but I understand that's what can happen.
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what → understand → mission
This was my own decision, I wasn't pushed into anything.'
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I → push → anything
Other Britons serving in the Russian armed forces took to social media to pay tribute, with one saying Townsend 'wanted to help the people of Russia defeat the Nazis'.
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people → serve → Nazis
Aiden Minnis added in a post on Facebook: 'I had the pleasure of spending some time with Bradley before he decided to sign his contract.
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he → add → contract
We discussed the danger he would be facing, but he insisted that his mind was made up...
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mind → discuss → danger
Ultimately, he sacrificed his life for our cause.
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he → sacrifice → cause
His service was brief but he blazed the brightest star.
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he → blaze → star
"To die a warrior in a Holy War is to live forever."
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die → die → War
Ben Stimson, another Briton who went to fight for Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2014, also paid tribute on Telegram, writing: 'Bradley had been a follower of my YouTube and Telegram channels for over two years.
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Bradley → go → years
I had advised him to stay in the UK and support anti-Nato protests at home.
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I → advise → home
He contacted me three months ago to say he was coming to Russia to join the army.
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he → contact → army
I told him just to come for a holiday.
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I → tell → holiday
He arrived at the same time as another volunteer was on his holiday.
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volunteer → arrive → holiday
We both told him the realities of the Special Military Operation and the dangers.
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We → tell → Operation
…and 6 more, not listed.
