// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
My son has disappeared off the face of the earth fighting for Russia
Valerie Stobbart, from Newcastle, says her son Nathan was given no choice but to join the Russian army to avoid deportation from the country
British man Nathan Stobbart has been declared missing in action while fighting for Russia in Ukraine. He kept his military service a secret from his family in the UK, who are now desperately trying to find him.
In December 2025, Nathan's mother Valerie Stobbart received a text message that plunged her life into turmoil.
It was from her panic-stricken daughter-in-law, Ksenia, who lives in Russia with Valerie's 30-year-old son and the couple's newborn baby. Nathan had been fighting for the country against Ukraine and had vanished.
"I had to drive home from my daughter's house. I don't even know how I managed to drive home, quite honestly.
"I remember walking in and telling Sean [Valerie's partner], and we were just both in total shock."
Her son had told her he was working as an electrical contractor and she had no idea he had joined the Russian army in April last year.
"You think that somebody is living this lovely little life with a new family and then suddenly you find out that they've gone, they're missing," she says.
"They've completely disappeared off the face of the earth."
Nathan Stobbart was declared missing in action by his military unit in December