The key facts

  • Nathan Stobbart was declared missing on 12 December 2025; his body has not been found
  • His mother says he faced deportation unless he signed a one-year army contract
  • Valerie Stobbart was dismissed from the Home Office after contact with a journalist

The disappearance and circumstances of his service

Nathan Stobbart, a 30-year-old British man from Newcastle, has been declared missing while serving in the Russian army in Ukraine. According to the BBC, his military unit officially registered his status as missing on 12 December 2025, and his body has not been found. His voice was last heard over a military radio a week before his wife Ksenia told Nathan's mother Valerie that he was missing. Valerie says her son hid his service from the family — he told her he was a contractor electrician. According to her, Russian authorities warned Nathan that he would not receive a visa to stay in the country and would face deportation unless he signed a one-year military service contract. Russian media previously reported that foreign men are coerced into taking part in the war in exchange for citizenship. Valerie does not approve of her son's decision, but believes he faced a difficult choice: return to Newcastle without his wife and newborn son, or join the army. She condemns Russia's 'terrible' invasion of Ukraine.

How the family ended up in Russia

Nathan moved to Russia on 25 December 2024 to be with Ksenia, whom he had met online. The couple married and had a son; Ksenia was also raising three children from a previous relationship, which made moving the whole family to the UK deemed too expensive. The family lived, according to Valerie, 'miles away from the fighting', and the conflict 'did not affect them in any way'. Nathan recorded a farewell video at the start of his service, which his wife was to pass on to his mother if he was killed. Valerie has watched it only once, but continues to believe her son is alive — possibly in captivity. She follows Reuters reports on body exchanges, but Nathan's name has not appeared there; she hopes he can be identified, as Russian authorities have his DNA from his child.

The search and the lost job

Valerie contacted the UK Foreign Office, where she was assigned a caseworker for compatriot affairs, but, she says, they admitted they 'could do nothing'. The FCDO told the BBC it was aware of reports about a missing Briton who had fought for Russia, was in contact with the family, and warned of severely limited consular assistance in such circumstances. Requests to the Russian authorities, according to Valerie, received the answer that 'everything is classified', including her son's whereabouts. Her search led to an article in The Telegraph about a Ukrainian POW camp, but the journalist who wrote it did not recall seeing Nathan. After Valerie told her employer — the Home Office, where she worked as an asylum decision specialist — about her contact with the journalist, she was suspended and dismissed for gross breach of her contract, which prohibited contact with the media. An appeal did not help. The Home Office declined to comment on individual staffing matters.

Context: Britons fighting for Russia

According to the BBC, under the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 it is illegal for Britons to fight for states in conflict with countries with which the UK is at peace, unless they hold dual citizenship. Nathan is not the only Briton without dual citizenship fighting for Russia: Ben Stimson and Aidan Minnis are believed to have been the first and received Russian citizenship for service in occupied Donbas; Bradley Townsend was killed in Ukraine in June and is believed to have been the first Briton killed fighting for Russia. Valerie stresses that her son's situation is different: he did not go to Russia with the intention of fighting. Nine months later she continues her search: 'Every day I think the phone might ring and someone will say: we've found him.'

Valerie Stobbart has shoulder-length blonde hair and narrow, black-rimmed glasses and has a neutral expression. She is wearing a grey cardigan and black top, with a silver necklace with a charm in the shape of an outline of a heart on it. She is sitting on a dark sofa and behind her are brown curtains and a cream lamp-shaded standard lamp against a cream wall. The lamp is switched on, emitting a warm peach glow.
Image caption,

Valerie Stobbart, from Newcastle, says her son Nathan was given no choice but to join the Russian army to avoid deportation from the country

Nathan Stobbart is dressed in khaki army uniform and is wearing a flak helmet with the under-chin strap not done up. He has beard and moustache stubble and bags under his eyes and looks tired. He has his mouth open in mid-speech. Behind him are green, leafy trees and a pale blue sky.Image source, Nathan Stobbart
Image caption,

Nathan Stobbart was declared missing in action by his military unit in December

Nathan Stobbart has short, dark strawberry blonde hair and and a moustache and beard. He is wearing an army green camouflage shirt with the colour open and is squinting a little. His eyes seem slightly puffy. The wall behind him is a turquoise blue.Image source, Nathan Stobbart
Image caption,

Nathan Stobbart filmed a diary while serving on the front line in Ukraine

Nathan Stobbart is holding his newborn baby, who is wearing a white baby suit with a mustard-coloured hood and is fast asleep. Nathan has his eyes closed and is smiling. He has short blond hair and a darker brown neatly trimmed moustache and beard. There is a pale blue cloth or blanket between his chest and his baby. Nathan is wearing a dark grey, long-sleeved t-shirt.Image source, Nathan Stobbart
Image caption,

Nathan's family say he reluctantly joined the Russian army to be close to his newborn son

Nathan Stobbart is wearing a dark wedding suit and waistcoat with white shirt, unbuttoned and with no tie. He is smiling as he looks at Ksenia, who is wearing a white wedding dress with drapes from her shoulders. Nathan has short hair, shaved at the sides, with a trimmed beard and moustache. Ksenia's blonde hair is tied up in a lose bun with ringlets of hair falling down. All the colours are in black and white.Image source, Supplied
Image caption,

Nathan moved to Russia to live with his girlfriend Ksenia, whom he has since married

A young man looks at the camera. He has relatively short, dark hair and is wearing a dark polo shirt.Ben Stimson posing with a rifleThe burning metal shell of a bus in Kramatorsk. Flames can be seen inside the bus with black smoke coming out, with debris strewn across the road