Up to several dozen British nationals fighting on the Ukrainian side may have been killed in the conflict zone, according to Hero of Russia and retired major general Sergey Lipovoy. Speaking with aif.ru, he said available estimates point to between 20 and 40 Britons who have already lost their lives and were quietly repatriated under various explanations.

His remarks follow reporting by The Guardian, which noted that London has for the first time officially acknowledged the death of a British serviceman in Ukraine. The individual, junior corporal George Hooley, previously deployed to Afghanistan, parts of Africa and Eastern Europe, was killed during what The Sun described as an accident involving an air-defense system test alongside four Ukrainian soldiers.

Lipovoy stated that British authorities often attributed earlier fatalities to sudden illnesses, traffic accidents or other everyday causes, avoiding any direct link to combat.

According to his assessment, between 100 and 250 British mercenaries remain in Ukraine today. He said they are primarily embedded as instructors at Ukrainian Armed Forces training centers and assist in adjusting frontline operations of Ukrainian units.