A Kiwi doctor has suffered severe injuries after standing on an anti-personnel mine in Ukraine, according to former Defence Minister Ron Mark.
Following extensive hand and foot surgery the GP has not returned home to New Zealand. Instead she has continued to work in Ukraine supporting medics with PTSD, Mark told the Herald after meeting with her last month.
The nature of the doctor’s injuries - which occurred in 2023 - have prevented her from returning to the frontline, he said.
Mark - who is now Mayor of Carterton - recently returned from his third trip to Ukraine. He says he met with the Kiwi doctor in London where she was presenting to British MPs about her experiences on the frontline.
Mark told the Herald he has “nothing but respect” for her.
“After three years of operations, she has a very good understanding of the geopolitical situation and the tactical and strategic challenges Ukraine faces,” Mark said.
For safety reasons, the Herald has not named the doctor.
Mark told the Herald Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given her Ukrainian citizenship “in recognition of what she’s done and what she’s gone through”.
Mark, a former captain in the New Zealand Army, first visited Ukraine in May 2022 and has visited twice more to meet New Zealand humanitarians, medics, and members of Ukraine’s Foreign Legion.
The Foreign Legion is an armed force made up of volunteers who have travelled to Ukraine from around the world, including New Zealanders.
Mark doesn’t travel in any official capacity, taking annual leave from his role as Mayor and funding his own travel.
He told the Herald he has become an unofficial sounding board for many Kiwis considering travelling to fight in Ukraine, receiving calls and texts day and night.
At least four New Zealanders are known to have died in the European nation since Russia invaded in February 2022: three soldiers and an aid worker.
Mark said his travels have alerted him to “considerably more” Kiwis also maimed on battlefields there.
He wouldn’t elaborate further, except to say dozens of Kiwis have signed up to fight in the Ukraine Foreign Legion.
Kiwis who have died there include three members of the Ukraine Foreign Legion: Dominic Abelen, Kane Te Tai and Shan-Le Kearns.
Abelen volunteered to fight in Ukraine after taking leave from the NZDF.
Te Tai is another former NZDF soldier, who previously served in Afghanistan.
Kearns did not have a military background but trained in Ukraine. He died while trying to rescue injured comrades.
The confirmed Kiwi death toll also includes aid worker Andrew Bagshaw who lost his life alongside an English colleague when their car was reportedly hit by a Russian artillery shell.
“There’s considerably more than that. Kiwis that have been wounded... some badly wounded,” Mark told the Herald.
“Despite their wounds, [they] have gone back. [They have] been patched up, put together, either in hospitals in Germany, Britain or in Kyiv, and they’ve gone back into the fight again,” he said.
Some – including ex-New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) soldiers – had decided to return to New Zealand, Mark said, only to later return to fight.
Mark said he fears more Kiwis will be injured or killed - or suffer lasting psychological wounds from what they witness.
For that reason, he wants those who serve in Ukraine to be eligible for support from Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand - the Government department that offers health, rehabilitation and financial help to eligible NZDF veterans.
Mark said while those fighting weren’t serving New Zealand officially, an argument could be made they were delivering “lethal aid” to Ukraine just as the New Zealand Government is via funding and training.
“Why would we not recognise that there are some New Zealanders who are paying their own air fares, putting their own lives on the line, and going and delivering lethal aid directly themselves,” he said.
“I’d argue, isn’t there a moral obligation [to] these men and women?”
Minister for Veterans Chris Penk told the Herald the entitlements would remain available only to those serving “at the direction of the New Zealand Government”.
There were no plans to extend Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand support to people travelling to Ukraine on their own.
“The Government has not considered extending veterans’ entitlements to New Zealanders who travel to Ukraine for combat or humanitarian reasons,” Penk said.
“Doing so could be seen as endorsing these actions, which is not the New Zealand Government’s position.
“We strongly advise New Zealanders against travelling to conflict zones. In many cases, we may be unable to offer consular support if they are harmed or wish to return home.”
Penk said New Zealand remained “steadfast” in its support for Ukraine “in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion”.
While New Zealand was not a combatant, its support was unwavering, he said.
“We have provided humanitarian and military assistance, including financial aid and the deployment of up to 100 New Zealand Defence Force personnel to help train Ukrainian troops in the UK and Europe.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.
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