British dad with no military experience 'killed in Ukraine by Russian drone'
Alan Robert Williams, 35, who has a 12-year-old daughter, has officially been declared as Missing In Action because his body has yet to be retrieved.His wife, Stephanie, 40, who pleaded with Alan not to go, was told by her husband's unit that he had been killed in the Kharkiv region on 14 July while trying to retrieve some foreign officers.
Stephanie was told that four Russian drones dropped a mortar eight metres from the team, killing Alan instantly.
'He only signed his contract with the unit on the 10 June", Stephanie said. "He had only been there a month. He had no frontline military experience at all.
'Even though I can't dispute the accounts I've been given from numerous people I have spoken to out there, it still doesn't feel real.
"I've been sending him messages on his phone giving him updates as to what has been going on."
After being discharged from hospital for struggling with his mental health, the dad, from Wirral, volunteered to fight for Ukraine, despite his loved ones pleading with him not to. Stephanie believes he initially applied "because of his mental health" but, since he has been away, he told his friends he "couldn't sit by and watch what was happening to the civilians, especially the children".She said: 'When it came to children he had a massive heart. It gave him purpose. That is what a few of the lads out there said, he finally felt that he wasn't failing people."Alan went to Ukraine on 7 May where he underwent training and he seemed in much better form in the first few conversations with Stephanie, who 'feared the worst' from day one.However, while his mental health improved, Stephanie's declined, and she said it was like they had switched.
The last time Stephanie spoke to Alan was on 2 July when his tone suddenly changed, after he told her he was embarking on his first mission.'I could tell by the way he was talking to me it was a dangerous mission,' she said.
Stephanie was contacted by Ukrainian sergeant a few weeks later, who told her that "all the evidence showed he was killed in action."Then, on 30 July, a man who was with Alan from the moment he arrived in Ukraine to the mission itself, called her.He said in no uncertain terms that he had passed away on the battlefield and they did everything they could to bring him back, but being under ambush, it was too dangerous.Stephanie said it will not sink in until he is officially declared Killed In Action. But for this to happen, his body needs to be retrieved, or in six months time she can apply to the Ukrainian courts to have him declared dead.
Stephanie, a civil servant and call handler, said: 'We have lost Alan's wage completely which was half of our bills. I can't claim anything with regards to being a widow until he is officially declared.'I am not entitled to anything. I earn too much to claim any single person benefit and I have two adult children who count towards people in my house so I can't claim anything at all.'At the moment I have a tiny buffer but once that finishes I will not be able to afford bills or rent or anything like that.'Stephanie's mum, Lynne, from Upton, has since launched a GoFundMe to help her daughter pay for rent and bills "during this difficult time."A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office told us: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Ukraine and are in contact with the local authorities.'
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