Thomas D’Alba, a former Italian soldier in his forties originally from Legnano (Milan), died in Ukraine, in the region of Sumy, fighting with the armed forces of Kiev against the Russians. The news was reported on X on Friday afternoon by a journalist, Vladislav Maistrouk, who claims to have met him in the capital. Until now, D’Alba had been officially reported missing: according to Avvenire, which verified the information, his death dates back to mid-June.
“Thomas D’Alba was a kind and brave man, an Italian. He fell in battle, in Donbass, defending Ukraine and Europe. Thomas was not a fool, but a professional, having already served in the Italian army, in the Folgore ,” Maistrouk wrote. “He left the army to follow his passion and become a music teacher. Then the full-scale war in Ukraine began, and Thomas did not feel like standing by and watching. He gave up his well-paid job for a mediocre salary, considering the risks. He chose cold exercises in the woods over aperitifs with friends, and a sleeping bag in a trench over quiet nights in his own bed,” Maistrouk wrote.
“We met in Kyiv, and spent evenings talking, as if we were Remarque characters ,” he continues. “The last time we spoke, in early June, Thomas was on a mission, and he boasted of having a new “ friend ” – a Russian drone, unexploded 1.5 meters from his position. He did not let himself be discouraged, not even in those moments. One thing Thomas told me, and that I would like Italians to read, especially those who doubt or are against: “I have been on many missions abroad, and sometimes I wondered if I was on the right side. In Ukraine I never had this doubt.” Glory to the heroes!”, he concludes.
The teachers at the Paganini Music School in Legnano, where he worked, describe him as a “fighting teacher”: “He worked with us as a drum teacher for ten years,” says director Fabio Poretti. “In February, when his contract expired, he told us of his decision to leave for Ukraine. He never explained to us what drove him, he didn’t go into detail about what he was going to do. Certainly, and anyone who knew him can vouch for it, he wasn’t driven by economic reasons. He was a fair man, not for sale.” In these months, he adds, “he never stopped communicating with us. When he could, he sent a message. Reserved, but it was his way of letting us know he was okay. To explain what kind of person Thomas was: on his days off from his soldier’s shift, he played for the children in Ukrainian hospitals.”
According to Avvenire, D’Alba is at least the sixth Italian to die in Ukraine. The first victim, in April 2022, was Edy Ongaro, a 46-year-old from Portogruaro (Venice), killed by a hand grenade: he was fighting with the pro-Russian separatists of Donbass. In September of the same year it was the turn of Benjamin Giorgio Galli , a 27-year-old originally from Varese, a foreign fighter with the Kiev army. Just a month later, another 27-year-old lost his life, Elia Putzolu , born in Rome and raised in Tuscany, who instead sided with the pro-Russians. In November 2024, the disappearance of Angelo Costanza, a 42-year-old former paratrooper, a Sicilian resident in Belgium: it has not yet been ascertained whether he is dead or captured. Last May, finally, Antonio Omar Dridi, a 35-year-old from Palermo, and Manuel Mameli, a 25-year-old from Cagliari, both aligned with Ukraine, were killed.
