A spokesperson for a foreign military unit in Ukraine says the army will do everything it can to repatriate the body of New Zealander Dominic Abelen.
Corporal Dominic Abelen Photo: Supplied / NZDF
Corporal Dominic Abelen was killed three weeks ago while on leave without pay from the New Zealand Defence Force.
The communications director of Ukraine's International Legion of Defence believed Abelen worked for a Special Forces wing, known as the Legionnaires Special Service Group (LSSG).
It is separate from the regular international legion where foreign fighters join, but it recruits from the same force and operates under the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's intelligence directorate (GUR).
The communications director, who is known only as 'Mockingjay', told Morning Report the regular Legion was made up of people from 58 countries, including New Zealanders, but was unable to confirm numbers.
"All legionnaires sign a contract with Armed Forces of Ukraine and become servicemen in the Ukrainian Army which means that we have the same legal protections Ukrainian servicemen, we have the same obligations, we have to [abide by the] same laws as Ukrainian servicemen, we get the same salary, we basically become Ukrainian soliders and we service alongside them."
"The same thing applies to people under GUR" - communications director of Ukraine's International Legion of Defence
Although Abelen was not in the Army branch of her Legion, the same rules and obligations applied, she said.
"What I do know is in these cases, the units and the army does everything in their power to retrieve the bodies, to recover the bodies, and then repatriate them.
"So this is the case if [soldiers in the Legion who are] foreigners are captured, this is the case if foreigners die in combat and if the bodies are in territories that are currently under occupation.
"There is also an option to have a funeral in Ukraine and burial in Ukraine and depending on what the family decides, we then work with this company that will at a later stage handle the transportation.
"We also have to involve the embassies of course, the families have to give us permission to do everything we have to do and follow their instructions in what they would like."
Related:
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- New Zealand Embassy in Poland working on repatriation of Dominic Abelen's body