British Mother’s Agony as Son Vanishes While Fighting for Russia

As the weeks passed with no word from Nathan, the full gravity of his disappearance became increasingly apparent to his family.

The family later learned that Nathan had recorded a farewell video at the start of his military service, asking his wife to pass it on to his mother in the event of his death.

“I was only able to watch it once,” Valerie says. “I had to turn it off.”

Despite the farewell message and his prolonged silence, Valerie continues to believe her son is still alive.

Valerie’s search for answers has been a prolonged and grueling ordeal, leading her to contact government agencies and multiple charities across the United Kingdom and Russia.

“I reached out to the Foreign Office and was assigned a caseworker, but they acknowledged that there is little they can do,” she says.

“There is no guidance on what steps to take,” she adds.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed it is aware of reports that a British national went missing after fighting for Russia in Ukraine and stated that it remains “in contact with his family.”

The department reiterated its advice against all travel to Russia, noting that “our ability to provide consular support in these circumstances is severely limited.”

Inquiries directed at Russian authorities regarding Nathan’s last known location yielded no results. “They kept insisting that everything was classified,” Valerie says. “They would not even disclose his whereabouts.”

Valerie now spends nearly all her free time scouring the internet for any trace of information.

“The days and weeks continue to pass,” she says, wiping away tears. “Nine months have gone by, and we have no more answers now than we did at the start.”

Still, she clings to the hope that he may have been captured and remains alive, monitoring official prisoner exchange reports between Russia and Ukraine via Reuters. Nathan’s name has not appeared in any of them.

She holds out hope that, at the very least, he could be identified, as Russian authorities possess his DNA from his child.

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