Tributes are pouring in for a Brit soldier fighting in Ukraine who was killed, after his family “begged him not to go”.
The family of Callum Tindal-Draper, 22, say they were informed by the 4th International Legion that their Cornwall-based son had been killed in action defending an observation point on November 5, the BBC reports. The man’s father Steven Draper expressed pride for his “brave” son, who he said was aware the chances of returning from Ukraine were slim.
“We begged and begged and begged him not to go,” Mr Draper said. “But Callum said ‘dad, I’m not frightened of bullies and what’s going on in Ukraine is awful and someone needs to stand up for these people’.”
Mr Draper said the family, from Gunnislake in Cornwall, tried to convince their son not to travel to Ukraine but understood it was something he was passionate about doing and had wanted to help.
Tindal-Draper’s mother Caroline Tindal had visited her son in September and said she had seen him mature. “It was such a transformation and he said to me ‘mum, coming out here was the best thing that ever happened to me, I’ve found who I was meant to be’,” Ms Tindal said.
She added: “He found who he was meant to be, he became that person and he lived it. When we found out he’d died, there was just this hole which I can’t describe and it’s always going to be there.
“But to know that they are saying he inspired them and they called him their little brother because he was the youngest one out there, they really were a family unit, and that is helping heal us and helping us get by.
“Already that hole I thought could not be mended is being filled with overwhelming love from his family out there and it means so much.”
The Daily Star has reached out to the Foreign Office for comment.
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