A Bristolian has died in Ukraine after a year fighting on the frontline. Jay Morais, 52, was involved in intense combat in the Donbas cities of Severodonetsk and Bakhmut.
His death was confirmed by Ukraine's International Legion on Tuesday night (May 9). A spokesman from the legion, a multi-national fighting force set up by President Volodymyr Zelensky, said: "Sadly, Jay Morais has died in the line of duty."
As reported by The Mirror, it is believed Mr Morais died in a Kharkiv hospital after fighting Russian troops in late February. Half his ashes were laid by his Ukrainian fiancee Lidiya Martynova at a cemetery in Kyiv while the other half sent home to relatives in Britain.
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The 34-year-old told The Telegraph: "Jay was a very special guy, beautiful and crazy at the same time. He was a professional soldier, but he would always say that it wasn’t important how many enemies he’d killed, but how many people he’d saved.
"I still can’t really believe he is dead. He was planning to stay here in Ukraine once the war was over to start a new life here."
Mr Morais previously spent time in the French Foreign Legion, serving in Kosovo and the Ivory Coast. Before that, he lived in Bristol and worked as a sales manager for mobile phone firm Three.
Tony Hackett, a former colleague at Three, told the Telegraph that Mr Morais was a fitness enthusiast who would cycle 20 miles a day to work. He said: "He was a good guy, and when the war started, he just felt he had to help, given the training he’d had in the Foreign Legion."
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