‘I think he’s an idiot’ — Australian man who joined Russian army missing, feared dead in Ukraine

An Australian man who travelled to Russia to join its army has been missing for nearly five months and is feared dead in Ukraine. His mother says she has had no contact with him since late June and wants to know whether he is alive; reports that he died in a drone strike remain unverified.

Daryl Fladung, a 38-year-old security guard from Queensland with no known military experience, signed a Russian military contract on 29 April after travelling to Moscow. He reported knee and heel injuries after basic training, then said in a 10 June Telegram post that he had been ordered to join a frontline assault before recovering. He is the first Australian known to have joined Russia’s military since the 2022 full-scale invasion, while Ukrainian authorities say nearly 46,000 foreign nationals from 151 countries and territories have signed Russian military contracts.