UK fighter killed by fellow mercenary in Ukraine – coroner
A coroner in the UK has established that former British paratrooper Daniel Burke was killed in an August 2023 incident by a fellow foreign fighter kilometers from the Ukraine conflict front line.
On Friday, British state broadcaster the BBC quoted Manchester Area Coroner Zak Golombeck as saying the 36-year-old was “sadly killed by cowardice and dishonor.”
“Whilst there was evidence initially presented that it was an accident, I reject that based on evidence gathered by Ukrainian authorities and Greater Manchester Police,” the official stated. He added that the former paratrooper was “unarmed and unable to defend himself” at the time of his death.
After Burke went missing, Ukrainian police questioned Abdelfetah 'Adam' Nourine, an Australian national known as “Jihadi Adam”. The foreign fighter initially told the authorities that he had shot Burke accidentally during target practice, the British state broadcaster reported, before leading officials to an underground pipe at a military training ground, where the Burke's corpse was buried.
Nourine's version of events, however, was later found to contradict the conclusions of a post-mortem examination. In addition, according to the BBC, ballistics tests conducted in Ukraine found that the weapon – reportedly an assault rifle – could not have been fired accidentally.
According to the article, Nourine subsequently fled Ukraine and is wanted by local authorities.
In late October, Sweden’s SVT broadcaster reported that a Swedish national, who had fought alongside Kiev’s forces since 2022, had been killed in action.
Several weeks later, the family of a 22-year-old British man, Callum Tindal-Draper, who had also fought with the Ukrainian International Legion, told the media that he had also perished at an undisclosed location.
In November, Russia’s RIA Novosti and TASS reported that another 22-year-old British man had been captured in Kursk Region, approximately 5km inside Russian territory. The news agencies shared video clips purportedly showing the man, who said he had previously served as a signalman in the UK Army.
Around the same time, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, citing Italian nationals fighting for Ukraine, reported that foreign fighters were complaining of severe shortages of basic equipment and weaponry.
