Australian bomb disposal aid worker killed in Ukraine

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SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man has been killed in Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Monday, with media reporting the victim was a former Australian soldier working for a charity which helps clear landmines.

The man and his British colleague died last week near the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum from injuries suffered when an improved explosive device went off in a building, the Australian Broadcasting Corp said in a report, citing an unidentified military source in Ukraine. Details had yet to be formally verified, the ABC added.

Albanese said the foreign affairs department was providing support for the man’s family, but did not provide any specifics.

“Out of respect for the family’s privacy and consistent with our obligations, there is a limit to what we can say publicly at this time,” Albanese told reporters.

“I can confirm he wasn’t a participant in the conflict, he was volunteering with a humanitarian organisation.”

The Australian man was working for the U.S.-based Prevail Together, the ABC said.

Prevail Together, which provides support to Ukrainian government agencies with landmine clearance, trauma medical care and humanitarian assistance, said in a statement that some team members were severely injured in an incident on May 6.

“We are still gathering information and working alongside military and police officials to uncover the details,” it said.

Australia has deployed soldiers to Britain to help train Ukrainian troops there and it is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to the West’s support for Kyiv, supplying aid, ammunition and defence equipment to defend against Russia’s invasion.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)