Scott Sibley: who was UK soldier killed in Ukraine, was he in the British Army - GoFundMe fundraising details

A British military veteran is reported to have been killed in Ukraine while fighting Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Scott Sibley has received tributes after the UK Foreign Office stated that one British national had died and another was missing.

The deceased soldier was not formally identified as Sibley by the Foreign Office, although it was reported by both the BBC and Sky News.

Both men's families are being supported by Foreign Office personnel.

The Foreign Office did not provide any other information, such as whether the two incidents were connected or where the death happened.

Here is everything you need to know about him.

Who was Scott Sibley?

36-year-old Scott Sibley was a former British Army soldier who had served overseas.

Sibley is thought to be the first British fighter to be killed in action in Ukraine.

According to diplomatic sources, the two individuals were most likely foreign volunteers operating with Ukrainian military forces in Mariupol or elsewhere in Donbas; it is unclear when Sibley was killed, but it is believed to have occurred recently.

A fundraising page set up in Sibley’s name paid tribute to his “contagious laugh and ability to cheer us up!”.

Craig and Sabrina Gant have organised the fundraiser for Sibley’s widow Victoria Sibley, with the goal of £5,000 almost doubled to more than £9,500 in one day.

Gant wrote on the Gofundme page titled ‘Covering funeral cost of a fallen hero’: “Hi, my name is Craig, however, many of you know me as Ganty. Sadly on the 23rd April 2022, Scott Sibley ‘Sibs’ was taken from us all.

“On behalf of Sibs and his family I’m setting this Gofundme page up, to try and raise funds to help cover funeral/additional costs, for our fallen hero and dear friend.

“Scott was a son, father, brother and uncle. To me he was a friend like no other and the bravest person I’ve had the pleasure to have known, he was as good as a brother to me.

“His life may have been cut short but he lived to the full and did things the Sibs way, right until the end.”

Sibley is survived by his daughter, who was diagnosed with stage 4 high risk Neuroblastoma, a rare malignancy that primarily affects children.

According to the BBC, Sibley shaved his head after his daughter's diagnosis in 2018 so that she wouldn't feel different when she lost her hair.

Tributes were also left on the Logistic Support Squadron Facebook page, where a picture was posted alongside the comment: “This week the Sqn has lost a former serving soldier. A man that showed Commando spirit until the end. RIP. Scott Sibley.”

The accompanying photograph appeared to show Sibley serving in the military when he was younger, standing near what appears to be Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, dressed in uniform.

What happened to Scott Sibley?

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: “We can confirm that a British national has been killed in Ukraine and are supporting their family.”

A small number of serving British personnel are believed to have gone absent without leave to join the resistance against the Russian invasion, while veterans and Britons without combat experience are thought to have also travelled to Ukraine.

There was initially confusion on the Government’s position after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in comments during an interview to the BBC on February 26, said she would “absolutely” support UK nationals who chose to fight for Ukraine.

However, she later rowed back on those comments, insisting she had been “expressing support for the Ukrainian cause” in her remarks, and that there are “better ways” to contribute to the country’s defence.

Veterans minister Leo Docherty has previously written to armed forces charities to encourage those tempted to travel to the war zone to turn their efforts to helping the Ukrainian people from the UK.

Are other Brits missing?

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office confirmed another British national is missing in Ukraine.

On the missing person, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are aware of a British national who is missing in Ukraine and are supporting their family. We are urgently seeking further information.”

Britons Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin were both captured earlier this month while fighting with Ukrainian armed forces against Russia.

They surrendered when their unit ran out of ammo inside the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol, where the city’s last Ukrainian forces are encircled.

The safety of a further two additional British nationals in Ukraine has also been questioned.

The two men, working as humanitarian relief volunteers, were seized on Monday 25 April by Russian soldiers at a checkpoint south of the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to UK-based non-profit organisation Presidium Network.

Dominic Byrne, co-founder of Presidium Network, said the two workers were attempting to evacuate a Ukrainian family caught in the crossfire.

He said that while waiting to be evacuated, the family began receiving strange texts from the British men's phone, and that two hours later, Russian forces raided the civilians' home, questioning how they knew the British men and claiming that they were spies.

Hundreds of former British troops have expressed a desire to travel to Ukraine to fight or assist with humanitarian efforts, while others without a military history have travelled to offer assistance.

Three former members of the UK special forces were said to have been killed in a Russian missile attack on a military training centre near the Polish border in March, but this was never confirmed.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, the British government has urged British citizens to leave the country and has advised Britons not to travel there.

According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 20,000 people have travelled from other countries to join the war against Russia.

How has Russia responded?

Russia has released a list of 100 alleged British mercenaries in Ukraine, according to the Daily Mail.

According to a pro-war Telegram channel named Rybar, which has nearly 400,000 subscribers, the 100 people whose names were revealed were members of the 'International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine,' also known as the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.

The list does not include Scott Sibley's name, and excludes British fighters detained by Russians in Mariupol; its authenticity is unknown.

The source of the list is unknown, but Rybar said it believed it was obtained through the offices of Vitaliy Kim, the governor of the Mykolayiv district.