Thomas D'Alba from Legnano was killed in action in the Sumy region of Ukraine at the end of June, according to consistent media reports. The former paratrooper of the Italian "Folgore" brigade had joined the Ukrainian National Guard around two years ago to fight against the Russian invasion.
He combined his military past with a passion for music. He taught electric guitar at the Scuola di Musica Niccolò Paganini in Legnano for ten years. Colleagues report that he even played music in Ukrainian hospitals during breaks.
At the beginning of June, shortly after his deployment in Sumy began, contact with him was lost. He was then reported missing and has been considered "missing in action" ever since, although Ukrainian sources confirm his death in mid-June.
The Ukrainian activist Vladislav Maistrouk, who knew D'Alba personally, said via the X platform (formerly Twitter): "He was a gentleman ... he fell in the Donbass to defend Ukraine and Europe." He described him as an encourager who did not flinch even after dangerous incidents such as an accident involving a Russian FPV drone.
D'Alba is now the seventh Italian to be confirmed dead in the context of the war. Previously, Manuel Mameli (25, Cagliari) and Antonio Omar Dridi (35, Palermo) were among those killed. In addition to volunteer fighters, civilian aid workers and media representatives as well as numerous Ukrainian civilians also lost their lives.
An official statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry is not yet available, but authorities confirm that an investigation has been opened and that identification is expected soon.
Those close to the Parachutisti Folgore, where D'Alba's military career began, remember him as a determined, reflective and humanly committed comrade. Changing tasks and international deployments had shaped him, but in Ukraine he had obviously made a clear moral decision.
