Two aid workers, including a Canadian, were killed Saturday in eastern Ukraine when Russian shelling hit a van carrying the team of a non-governmental organization.
Four volunteers from the Road to Relief organization, which helps evacuate the wounded from the front lines, were trapped inside the van when it was hit by shells near the town of Chasiv Yar around 10 a.m. local time, Saturday morning.
“Their vehicle was attacked by the Russians. After being hit directly, the van overturned and caught fire,” Road to Relief said in a post on its Instagram account.
According to the organization, Canadian Anthony Ihnat, nicknamed “Tonko”, died in the attack and his body was found.
Brave To Rebuild, another non-profit organization with which Mr. Ihnat worked, also confirmed his death in a social media post.
“In 2022, he sold his truck and came to Ukraine with the sole purpose of helping the Ukrainian people in their time of need,” Brave To Rebuild noted.
““Tonko” has volunteered for Brave on numerous occasions, tirelessly helping other organizations. He helped carry luggage to the Polish border, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, rebuild schools, in addition to participating in evacuation operations. »
In its message, the organization specified that Mr. Ihnat, a Slovak descendant, was 58 years old and lived in Ontario. He was also a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
“A handsome, sensitive, always cheerful, brilliant, caring and hard-working man,” Brave To Rebuild added, before directly quoting some of Mr. Ihnat’s words about his motivations for going to Ukraine.
“The new critical situation in your country has deeply affected me. My parents are from Slovakia. I didn’t have the chance to go there, but it’s very close to here. So I also have warm feelings for Ukraine. I’m here to provide whatever help I can. »
Mr Ihnat’s colleagues Ruben Mawick, a German, and Johan Mathias Thyr, a Swede, were seriously injured by shrapnel and suffered burns. They were transported to separate hospitals, “far from the scene”.
After the attack, Road to Relief said it could not locate the van’s fourth passenger, Emma Igual, a Spanish national who was its manager. A few hours later, however, the interim Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, told Spanish media that he had received “verbal confirmation” of the death of Ms. Igual, who was 32 years old.
The volunteers were on their way to assess the needs of civilians in the suburb of Bakhmout, Road to Relief said. This eastern city experienced the longest and bloodiest battle of the war before falling to Moscow in May.
Ukrainian forces have retained the western suburbs of Bakhmut and are launching a counter-offensive in the region.