Calgary aid worker helps retrieve remains of Canadian soldier killed in Ukraine
'Any Canadian would do this,' says Paul Hughes, an aid worker based in Kharkiv
A humanitarian worker originally from Calgary has travelled close to the front lines in eastern Ukraine, to help retrieve the remains of a Canadian soldier, Kyle Porter, who was killed there last week.
"It's absolutely the very least that we can do to honour somebody who made the ultimate sacrifice — a fellow Canadian," said Paul Hughes.
"Any Canadian would do this."
Hughes spoke to The Current while he was helping to secure the soldier's remains in Kostyantynivka, about 25 kilometres from the contested city of Bakhmut.
Porter, 27, of Calgary, and Cole Zelenco, 21, of St. Catharines, Ont., were killed last week by Russian artillery fire, while protecting a supply line near Bakhmut. Several Ukrainians were killed in the same attack; fighting around the contested city has claimed thousands of lives.
Zelenco's body was recovered from the battlefield, but it was not immediately possible to retrieve Porter's remains. As part of efforts to secure Porter's body, Hughes offered to help transport the fallen soldier away from the front lines.
"It's pretty intense. I'm in an area that's a little bit quiet right now, but there's been lots of bombs in the background — but we're in a fairly safe location at the moment," Hughes said.
Hughes had to cut the call short when the soldier's remains were safely in his vehicle.
The humanitarian worker has been based in Kharkiv for more than a year, running an organization called Helping Ukraine Grassroots Support. He said he's been thinking of Porter and Zelenco's families since news of their deaths reached him.
"It was just one of the saddest things that I've heard over here so far," he said.
"You feel like you're a brother with somebody that you've never met before."
'Fighting for freedom'
In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said it was "aware of reports" of Canadians killed, and is "following up with authorities for more information." An unofficial count by CBC News puts Porter and Zelenco as the fourth and fifth Canadians to be killed in the war since Russia's invasion began.
Walter Wood spent time fighting in Ukraine last year with the International Legion, which he described as a band of ex-military volunteers.
"When I was there it was about 50 nations represented from all over the world, from Japan to Colombia and Peru," Wood, a retired Canadian Armed Forces officer, told The Current.
"When we asked them why they were there, to a man, to a person, they all responded they were there to fight for freedom and democracy," he said.
The federal government strongly advises against travelling to Ukraine, warning Canadians that their "safety is at high risk, particularly if you engage in active combat."
But Wood argues that the war in Ukraine has implications around the world.
"It sounds trite when you say it — that you're over there fighting for freedom and democracy — but that's exactly what we were doing," he said.
"If we don't stand up to bullies like the Putin regime, what does that say of us?"
Wood met Zelenco last year, at a training camp in Ukraine.
"He seemed like a very effervescent, you know, hard-charging Canadian young man," Wood told Galloway.
He said Zelenco had a good sense of humour, but was also "a total professional."
"He was one of the better soldiers that we had over there when I was there," he said.
"It's heartbreaking, and I really feel for the families of both Kyle and Cole."
With files from CBC News. Audio produced by Samantha Lui, Meli Gumus, Joana Draghici and Alison Masemann.
