A fifth New Zealander has died in combat in Ukraine, joining earlier losses (left to right) Dominic Abelen, Kane Te Tai, Andrew Bagshaw and Shan-Le Kearns. Herald composite photo.
A fifth New Zealander has been killed in Ukraine, and his body is yet to be recovered from the front line.
The death brings the known death toll of New Zealanders in Ukraine to five: three other soldiers and an aid worker have also lost their lives since Russia invaded in February 2022.
The man in his late 40s was listed missing in action in May.
He had received basic military training when he joined the foreign fighting force the Ukraine International Legion, the Herald understands.
The American non-profit organisation the R.T. Weatherman Foundation says it is supporting his family and leading on-the-ground efforts to locate his remains.
The foundation is also searching for the body of fellow Kiwi Shan-Le Kearns, who died there in April.
Kearns was killed when a Russian drone dropped a grenade on him. His death was filmed by a Russian drone and the footage uploaded to a Russian Telegram social media channel.
Until remains are located, Ukrainian officials will formally list both men as missing in action.
The latest Kiwi casualty lost his life during intense fighting in Donetsk Oblast region in eastern Ukraine.
The Herald understands he has family members in a small North Island town, while his parents live overseas.
He had also spent time living in Australia before joining the Ukraine International Legion.
The Weatherman Foundation’s Kyiv-based director of programmes Lauren Guillaume told the Herald it is supporting the man’s family, just as it has with three other families of Kiwis who have died in combat in Ukraine.
“He is a recent case, from this [Ukrainian] summer,” she said.
“And, that’s really the most I’ll say right now because we’re still trying to investigate ... and validate everything. And, of course this loss for the family is still really, really new.”
The Foundation is trying to locate, identify and repatriate his remains. They will use DNA, dental records and finger printing if necessary, Guillaume told the Herald.
The same goes for Kearns, who went by the military callsign ‘Oxide’.
Guillaume said bodies or partial remains are regularly recovered from battlefields, and during body exchanges between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
“For MIAs like ‘Oxide’ and [the fifth New Zealand fatality], there is still a chance for a recovery, because what’s happening is the remain exchanges,” Guillaume said.
The Herald has been told the man was killed on or around May 17 while trying to repel attacks from Russian troops near Nova Poltavka.
His death is one of many involving foreign fighters that pro-Russian Telegram channel TracANaziMerc has posted about.
The channel features a photo, purportedly of the late Kiwi, with a red cross on it and text saying he was among “a group of foreign mercenaries” who had been “neutralized”.
The May death means at least five New Zealanders have died in the European nation since Russia invaded in February 2022.
The toll includes three other soldiers - Dominic Abelen, Kane Te Tai and Shan-Le Kearns.
Aid worker Andrew Bagshaw died while trying to rescue an elderly woman in an area of intense military action in Soledar.
The Weatherman Foundation – using dental records and DNA samples - was able to confirm remains located in eastern Ukraine were those of Abelen.
They were returned to New Zealand in March – two and a half years after his death – where his funeral included a moving haka from his former New Zealand Defence Force unit.
Former Defence Minister Ron Mark – who recently returned from his fifth trip to Ukraine – has said as well as the five dead, “considerably more” Kiwis have been maimed on the battlefield.
Mark has previously told the Herald “dozens” of New Zealanders are in Ukraine: from former Defence Force soldiers – including a sniper and Afghanistan War veteran – to those with no military experience.
Asked how many New Zealanders she had come across while in Ukraine since last year, Guilaume responded: “So many”.
The bodies of Bagshaw, Te Tai and Abelen were all eventually recovered.
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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