30-year-old Austrian volunteer killed in action while defending Ukraine

A 30-year-old Austrian volunteer died in the war defending Ukraine.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed the relevant information from the Austrian newspaper Östrerreich (oe24).

"An Austrian citizen died in Ukraine. The Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed this in response to a request from oe24," the report says.

As the publication notes, the death of the volunteer from Austria was first reported by his Ukrainian girlfriend in a post on Instagram.

She posted a photo of the deceased Richard S., who, according to his date of birth, was supposed to celebrate his 30th birthday just two weeks ago.

"He loved his homeland [meaning, obviously, Austria – ed.] and his family, but since the beginning of the great war, he has supported my family [i.e., Ukraine – ed.]," the post of the deceased soldier's girlfriend reads.

It is noted that the Austrian volunteer died during a drone attack.

According to Östrerreich, the man was apparently involved with Austria's far-right "Identitarian Movement" and participated in several of its events, particularly in Graz.

It should be noted that in January, Edgar Platonov, a serviceman of the International Legion of Ukraine's armed forces, died fighting for Ukraine. The Latvian volunteer was killed on December 25 last year in the Novoyehorivka area of the Luhansk region. He was 41 years old.

For reference:

Foreign citizens are already fighting in the Defense Forces of Ukraine, not as representatives of their countries' armed forces but as volunteers.

Even at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called on citizens of foreign countries who were friends of Ukraine to join the territorial defense forces.

A separate unit was formed from them—the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. In March 2022, the Ministry of Defense reported that 55 countries have representatives in the International Legion.

In addition, a website was launched in Ukraine that contains all the necessary information for citizens of foreign countries who want to join the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine.

Also, in June 2024, Ukraine's intelligence reported on the simplification of service in military intelligence for foreigners.