The mother of a Kiwi solider believed to have been killed on the frontlines in Ukraine says she has never fully understood why he went to the war zone.
New Zealand-trained Kane Te Tai has been fighting in Ukraine and had been keeping daily contact with his family back home. However, his mother Ngaire Te Tai told the New Zealand Herald the contact had suddenly stopped.
And she said in an interview with RNZ that she never fully came to terms with his motivation for going.
"I tried to understand why he left the country and went to Ukraine. I still don't understand. But I kind of do too, if you know what I mean."
She paid tribute to an "awesome son, father, uncle and brother".
Just last week he posted a video from Ukraine showing the moment he reunited with his friend who had been held captive for months.
And In April last year the father of one told TVNZ: “I’m hoping to come back, it will be great to see home again. But if not I’ve had a lot of good times, I’ve met a lot of great people and I’ve got to sort of accept that.”
Kane te Tai spoke to Sunday last April before going to Ukraine:
Te Tai’s friend, veteran Aaron Wood, says they last spoke on Sunday. Te Tai spoke of his personal growth in Ukraine and how he was keen to come home and get back to the real world. He told Wood he felt he had done good work and was training his replacement.
Two New Zealanders have already been killed in Ukraine. Dominic Abelen, 28, was on leave without pay from the New Zealand Defence Force when he was killed in Donetsk in August. His body has not been returned to his family.
Andrew Bagshaw, a dual New Zealand and British citizen, was killed in the town of Soledar when his car was hit by an artillery shell in January. He was 47.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and trade maintains New Zealanders should not travel to Ukraine.
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