WORLD NEWS | Ex-NZ soldier who helped veterans dies in Ukraine

WELLINGTON, March 23 (AP) — A former New Zealand soldier killed in Ukraine co-founded a charity to help struggling veterans, authorities said Thursday.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that Ukrainian authorities had confirmed Kane Te Tai’s death and that the New Zealand embassy in Poland was trying to learn more details.

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In 2017, De Tai helped register the No Duff Charitable Trust to support veterans in crisis. In a statement, the trust said it shared the news of Te Tai, code-named Turtle in Ukraine, who had been killed in action with “tremendous sadness”.

“Without him, No Duff would not exist,” the trust said. “Kane had a big heart and loved helping others. His passing has left a huge hole in the lives of many from here to Eastern Europe.”

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The trust said it was in close contact with Te Tai’s family to ensure his body was returned to New Zealand.

The New Yorker interviewed Detai late last year near the front-line village of Pavlivka, where he was leading a contingent of foreign volunteer fighters against the Russian invasion. He told the magazine that before coming to Ukraine, he ended a relationship, quit his job and sold his house and car.

“I really love these people, I love this country,” De Tai told the magazine, using the name Turtle. “I can’t go home because this is home now. It does feel that way.”

New Zealand’s Ministry of Defense said Detai was an Army soldier from 2002 to 2009. He served in Afghanistan and was awarded the General Service Medal, Combat Service Medal and Defense Service Medal with “regular” clasp.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Tetai is 38 years old and has a 12-year-old daughter.

Te Tai’s mother, Ngaire Te Tai, said she tried to prevent her son from going to Ukraine.

“But he’s an adult and there’s nothing I can do about it,” she told the paper earlier this week, before her son’s death was confirmed. “His whole family tried to talk him out of going. He’s a very complicated man, my son, but he’s always been a community spirit.” (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)