Ministry of Defence says person, who has yet to be identified, died in road traffic incident not believed to be result of hostile action
A member of the UK armed forces has been killed in a crash in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence said.
The person, who has not yet been named, died in a road traffic incident on Saturday. It is understood the incident was not a result of hostile action.
The person’s family has been informed and has asked for some time before more details are made public.
“Our thoughts and our sympathies are with the individual’s loved ones at this difficult time,” an MoD spokesperson said.
The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, said on X: “This is very sad news for the family and for those grieving with them in our Armed Forces.
“My deepest condolences go to them all.”
The shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, said on X he was “saddened to hear this news” and offered his condolences to the person’s family and friends.
A small number of British personnel in Ukraine provide security to diplomats and support the country’s armed forces.
British paratrooper George Hooley, 28, was killed in Ukraine in December while watching Ukrainian forces testing defensive capability.
The MoD described his death as a “tragic accident” that occurred “away from the frontlines”.
Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine is in its fifth year and the conflict continues with fresh strikes on Ukraine, including an attack on a gasworks and a drone attack on a train station on Sunday.
The attack hit a train at Yahodyn station, on the Polish border, shortly after a train carrying Boris Johnson had left ahead of schedule.
Ukraine’s railway operator said the attack may have been aimed at the train carrying the former prime minister, among other dignitaries.
Johnson had been returning from a major conference in Kyiv along with former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt and a number of European security advisers.
According to a translation from Ukrainian, rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said in a post on Telegram it was “quite possible” the drone had been aimed at Johnson’s train.
Explore more on these topicsReuse this content
Source: www.theguardian.com
