A 61-year-old former soccer player and grandfather who went to Ukraine to fight against the Russian army has not been heard from for months.
- Robert Grady, 61, went to the Ukraine to fight the Russian army in March last year.
- But he hasn’t been heard from on social media since the posts dried up in August.
Nothing has been heard of a former soccer player and grandfather who went to fight in Ukraine for months.
Robert Grady, 61, left for Ukraine in March last year to fight the Russian army following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country in February 2022.
After returning to the UK in April last year claiming to be recovering from Covid, Grady appeared to be back in the country, saying he had found a “good job” and was living the “dream” by July.
But after saying he couldn’t reveal much about his new job because it was ‘special forces’ related, Grady hasn’t been heard from since August 2022 after his social media posts dried up.
His last social media post was in August when he changed his Facebook profile picture to a Ukrainian coat of arms placed on the front of the Scottish saltire.
Robert Grady, 61, left for Ukraine in March last year to fight the Russian army following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country in February 2022.
In April 2022, the former Hibernian FC hooligan was captured on video wearing a bulletproof vest and holding an assault rifle.
He said: ‘My name is Rob. I am a 61 year old grandfather from Scotland. I have traveled to Ukraine to help Ukraine fight the Russians.
“I will do everything in my power to save Ukraine from Putin. Everyone in the world please help Ukraine.’
But after a month in the country, he shared on social media that he had returned home and was in the process of recovering from Covid.
Months later, in July, he posted a photo of himself dressed in camouflage body armor and shorts holding an assault rifle.
He said he was ‘back’ in Ukraine in response to people’s comments, with people telling him to ‘keep up the good work’ and ‘stay safe’.
Mr. Grady claimed he had gotten a “good job” but was related to special forces so he couldn’t say “too much” in response to some user comments.
Months later, in July, he posted a photo of himself dressed in camouflage body armor and shorts holding an assault rifle.
He said he was ‘back’ in Ukraine in response to people’s comments, with people telling him to ‘keep up the good work’ and ‘stay safe’. Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen load an armored vehicle before deploying to the Bakhmut front line, Chasiv Yar, Ukraine
His last post was in August, a month after he confirmed he was back in Ukraine and has not been heard from on social media since.
He changed his Facebook profile photo to an image of the Scottish Saltire with a Ukrainian coat of arms superimposed on top.
Grady built a reputation as a hooligan with ties to the Easter Road club since the early 1980s.
He was a member of the Capital City Service (CCS) and received a football banning order in 2014 for engaging in a street fight after a cup final.
In the summer of last year, a Georgian commander said there were around 3,000 British volunteers fighting in the Ukraine against Russia.
The commander’s estimates are not official, but he said British volunteers were the second largest group of foreign fighters, ahead of the United States and behind Georgia.
The Foreign Ministry has been contacted for comment.