An Australian man has been killed in Ukraine while volunteering for a charity.
According to reports, the Australian man was killed alongside a colleague from Prevail Together near Izyum.
The US-registered organisation disposes of deadly landmines and other explosives so civilians can return home, and offers medical and humanitarian help.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he offered his “deepest condolences and sympathies” to the family of an Australian man killed in Ukraine, confirming he was a charity volunteer.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Ukraine.
Prevail Together board member Shaun Pinner said the organisation’s co-founder, Chris “Swampy” Garrett, a British bomb disposal expert, was also killed.
A third person was injured but the details of the incident are not yet known.
“It has now been confirmed that two of the three critically injured individuals have sadly passed away,” Pinner wrote on X.
Garrett, who set up the charity with his wife Courtney Pollock, had worked for more than a decade clearing landmines.
“Crushingly, after 11 years of dedicated and tireless work in de-mining, Chris lost his life whilst working to disable an explosive device,” a fundraising page said.
Pinner told the UK Press Association he couldn’t count the number of lives Garrett he had saved by removing mines.
Prevail is described as having a “team forged from the expertise of seasoned veterans in both military and humanitarian sectors”.
