A father pays tribute to his soldier’s son as a “brave soul” after his death in Ukraine

A former British Army soldier who died fighting Russians in Ukraine had a “brave soul”, his father said.

His family said Liam Love, 24, who grew up in Coventry, was killed in October by a mortar bomb in Lyman in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

His parents live in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, and the funeral will take place there on Saturday.

Love served in the Royal Anglian Regiment for four years, during which he helped train Ukrainian conscripts following the Russian invasion in early 2022.

His father, Michael, said the experience had a profound effect on his son, so he left the British Army earlier this year to join Ukrainian forces fighting the Russians.

“The training was much too short because the men were needed in Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Love told BBC Northern Ireland.

“Liam befriended them and kept in touch with them when they returned to Ukraine, but many died.

“He gave me the feeling that he wanted to be more involved, but I never imagined that this involvement would one day lead him to actually cross the border into Ukraine.

“He empathized with the Ukrainian people and their plight, and I think he felt he didn’t give enough to the Ukrainian recruits when he was part of the training package.

“So he wanted to go out and help them break free from what the Russians were doing at the time.”

A month before his death, Love was injured after being hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell.

The father stated that the incident did not discourage him from resuming combat operations.

“He was adamant that his personal mission was not completed and that when he was able to return to the fight, he would do so – and so he did,” he said.

He said he received a call on October 9 from a soldier who was fighting alongside his son, telling him he had been killed in action.

“I hoped I would never have to make that call, I prayed I would never have to make it, and honestly, I actually tried to keep it in the back of my mind that it wouldn’t happen. happen,” he said.

“During his recovery, one of the things he told me was, ‘I’ll be back, but I’ll see you at Christmas,’ so he was confident he’d make it at least until Christmas and we’d see him again then, but that didn’t happen.

He added: “I want it to be remembered that he truly believed in what he did and despite the inconvenience of the battle, the war; his determination to see this through, I want this to be his lasting legacy.

“He wanted to be remembered with a simple quote: ‘What we do in life echoes in eternity,’ and that will echo in me.

“He was just a brave soul.”

Funeral ceremonies will take place on Saturday at the church of St. Patrick’s Day in Derrygonnelly.

The family hope that a memorial service will be held at Coventry Cathedral at a later date.