{"id":569,"date":"2025-07-01T11:43:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/?p=569"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:30:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:30:32","slug":"british-volunteer-who-died-fighting-bravely-for-ukraine-given-final-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/british-volunteer-who-died-fighting-bravely-for-ukraine-given-final-farewell\/","title":{"rendered":"British volunteer who died \u2018fighting bravely\u2019 for\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0given final farewell\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ben ‘Budgie’ Burgess answered Ukraine’s call to fight for the country’s freedom in the face of Russian military aggression (Picture: East2West News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A final farewell has been paid to a highly regarded\u00a0British drone pilot<\/a> who joined Ukraine\u2019s fight \u2018because he truly believed in freedom.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ben \u2018Budgie\u2019 Burgess, 33, from Portsmouth, is said to have died in combat with Vladimir Putin’s forces<\/a> after serving on the frontline for three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The volunteer\u2019s<\/a> funeral was held at the capital\u2019s main crematorium on Monday, with 40 family and friends in attendance, according to the Kyiv Post<\/a>. British and Ukrainian flags were draped over his coffin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The British Army\u00a0veteran\u00a0\u2014 full name Benjamin Leo Burgess, call sign\u00a0Budgie \u2014 was \u2018eliminated\u2019 on June 20, Russian sources claim. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Ukraine\t<\/div>
Comrades of British volunteer Ben ‘Budgie’ Burgess have paid tribute after he was said to have been killed in action (Picture: East2West News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a><\/strong> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

A fellow British volunteer soldier – identified only by his call sign Azrael – said: \u2018A lot of people come to Ukraine for different reasons, but Budgie definitely came for the belief that Ukraine deserves to be free.  <\/p>\n

\u2018And he was willing to fight for that. And he did. <\/p>\n

 \u2018He fought well, fought bravely, and ultimately was killed doing that.\u2019 <\/p>\n

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Ben \u2018Budgie\u2019 Burgess is remembered by his comrades (Picture: Kyiv Post\/East2West News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Post reported: \u2018Family, friends, and fellow soldiers stood together, some hugging his coffin as sunflowers and roses were laid gently on top. <\/p>\n

 \u2018The Ukrainian national anthem played as a final tribute.\u2019 <\/p>\n

The pilot was killed in\u00a0Andreevka, in the Sumy region,<\/a> according to reports.<\/p>\n

The Post said he was born in southern England in 1992 before joining Ukraine\u2019s fight against Russia\u2019s all-out attack in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Ben ‘Budgie’ Burgess is given his last respects at the funeral in Kyiv (Picture: KyivPost\/East2West News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Azrael, from Ukraine’s 78th Airborne Assault Regiment,\u00a0said his comrade first served in Zaporizhzhia with the artillery, before transitioning to \u2018medevacs\u2019 in Donetsk.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

He then fought as an FPV [first person view] drone pilot, which \u2018became his obsession and expertise\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018He was among the best pilots we had,\u2019 said his comrade. <\/p>\n

\u2018He came to Ukraine because he truly believed in its freedom. <\/p>\n

‘And he died fighting for that.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Ukraine\t<\/div>
Ben Burgess earned the respect of his comrades after spending three years fighting for Ukraine (Picture: KyivPost\/East2West News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a reference to his British roots, a Ukrainian flag on Ben’s coffin carried the words ‘Royal Mail special delivery’ alongside a picture of a quadcopter.<\/p>\n

Azrael added: \u2018We were the last two foreign fighters in our regiment. <\/p>\n

\u2018He was my family here. <\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve lost many friends in this war \u2013 he\u2019s my biggest loss.\u2019 <\/p>\n

The British volunteer had\u00a0a girlfriend in Odesa and a \u2018legacy of friendship and commitment\u2019, Azrael said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Messages left in Maidan Square read \u2018thank you for protecting\u2019 and \u2018love you brother, until we meet again.\u2019\u00a0Others read \u2018Ben was a true Cossack\u2019 and \u2018forever in my mind, heart, and soul.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact\u00a0<\/strong>josh.layton@metro.co.uk<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/02\/26\/brits-remembered-heart-ukraine-frontline-deaths-fight-russia-22630641\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Brits remembered in the \u2018Heart of Ukraine\u2019 after frontline deaths in the fight against Russia<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/10\/23\/british-medic-in-ukraine-evacuates-wounded-soldier-under-russian-fire-19706504\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">British medic in Ukraine evacuates wounded soldier from \u2018zero line\u2019 under Russian fire<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/03\/12\/drone-operator-named-shrek-says-this-parents-strike-putin-base-22712410\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Drone operator named Shrek says \u2018this is for my parents\u2019 in strike on Putin base<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben ‘Budgie’ Burgess answered Ukraine’s call to fight for the country’s freedom in the face of Russian military aggression (Picture: East2West News) A final farewell has been paid to a highly regarded\u00a0British drone pilot who joined Ukraine\u2019s fight \u2018because he truly believed in freedom.\u2019\u00a0 Ben \u2018Budgie\u2019 Burgess, 33, from Portsmouth, is said to have died in combat with Vladimir Putin’s forces after serving on the frontline for three years.\u00a0 The volunteer\u2019s funeral was held at the capital\u2019s main crematorium on … <a href=\"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/british-volunteer-who-died-fighting-bravely-for-ukraine-given-final-farewell\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> “British volunteer who died \u2018fighting bravely\u2019 for\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0given final farewell\u00a0“<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cost-of-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":576,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569\/revisions\/576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}