A SOLDIER who has family from Monmouthshire and who spent part of his childhood locally has been hailed a hero, after he was killed on the frontline fighting as a volunteer in Ukraine.

Former British Army sniper Alexander Garms-Rizzi, 23, was killed by a Russian drone after acting as a decoy to divert fire from comrades.

His commander and his fellow troops commended his courage, describing him as one of the most fearless soldiers on the frontline.

Alexander – a fluent Russian speaker with a Moscow mother, and whose family lived for a while near Abergavenny – made headlines in 2022/23 after going AWOL from his Royal Welch Fusilier unit during a NATO exercise in neighbouring Estonia, to go and fight with Ukrainian forces.

When he returned to the UK months later, he was court martialled for crossing the border against orders and potentially creating a security risk if captured, subsequently being sentenced to military detention for a year.

He said he had Ukrainian friends and couldn't "just stand by and watch things unfold", and had told officers of his intentions, messaging his unit to say what he had done.

His actions and the court martial sparked a diplomatic row, as the then Foreign Secretary Liz Truss openly backed Britons joining the fight, and a Ukrainian special forces colonel appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky to intervene with the British Government.

Having been released after eight months, Alexander returned to Ukraine to rejoin the fight against Putin's forces, with the call sign Sasha.

During the firefight that killed him at the end of January, Alexander heroically acted as 'bait' to allow three comrades to escape back to a bunker, one of whom was seriously wounded.

But he was fatally wounded by a drone and forces were unable to immediately recover the brave soldier's body from the battleground in the Kupiansk region.

His Finnish comrade and best friend Finn told The Sun: "He was a born fighter and died how he would have wanted – with honour while helping others.

“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.

“He was my best friend and I’m going to miss him – we are all going to miss him.”

His Ukrainian commander told The Sun: "He was a very brave guy and very experienced. Back in 2022, he was one of the first foreign legionnaires to come to Ukraine.

“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 500m to the next safe shelter.

“He said he would distract the drones by running in a circle while the others ran to safety.

“He took a different path and was only about 100m from safety when he was hit. He died a hero.”