Ukrainian troops pay last respects to Briton killed in clash with Russian forces

Ukrainian service members have gathered in Kyiv to pay last respects to a British combat medic who set up a charity delivering essential supplies to frontline fighters.

Peter Fouche, 49, died “in the battlefield” on June 27 as his unit clashed with Russian troops, according to his colleague at Project Konstantin, the volunteer group that since 2022 has ferried drones, vehicles, uniforms and food to Ukrainian soldiers in the east.

According to its website, it has also helped evacuate 219 Ukrainian soldiers from combat zones.

At the funeral ceremony, Ukrainian soldiers carried Mr Fouche’s coffin through Kyiv’s landmark Independence Square, the site of mass protests in 2014 that forced out a pro-Russian president.

Mr Fouche’s comrades held back tears as they lined up to say goodbye. Others read prayers as they held up Ukrainian flags and military insignia.

His partner, wearing a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, knelt down to embrace the coffin.

A statement released on Monday by Halyna Zhuk, Project Konstantin’s Ukrainian co-founder, called Mr Fouche “a hero” and praised his “relentless commitment to Ukraine and her people”.

Mr Fouche, from west London, helped build a field hospital in Kyiv before he started Project Konstantin, according to the group’s website, and later enlisted in the Ukrainian army.

At least five other Britons have been killed while volunteering in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.