UK fighter was unlawfully killed in Ukraine, coroner rules
A former British soldier who traveled to Ukraine to help fight Russia was unlawfully killed by a “comrade”, a coroner has found.
Daniel Burke, of Manchester, was assisting Ukrainian armed forces but was murdered by someone he knew outside the war zone, an inquest heard.
Manchester district coroner Zak Golombeck said Mr Burke, 36, died “heroically and heroically but sadly was killed through cowardice and disgrace”.
The suspect in the murder is an Australian citizen wanted by Ukrainian police after fleeing the war-torn country, the court heard.
Nourine Abdbelfetah, a Ukrainian army fighter known as “Jihadi Adam,” told Ukrainian police he accidentally shot and killed the two men while they were conducting drills 27 miles (44 kilometers) from the front line Mr. Burke.
Burke, a former paratrooper, was found buried in an underground pipe at a military training ground in the Zaporozhye region.
“While there was initial evidence that this was an accident, based on the evidence gathered by the Ukrainian authorities and GMP I reject this,” Mr Golombek said
“(Mr. Burke) was unarmed and unable to defend himself.”
