Daniel Burke: UK fighter was unlawfully killed in Ukraine, coroner rules

A former British soldier who went out to Ukraine to help in the war effort against Russia was unlawfuly killed by a “comrade”, a coroner has found.

Daniel Burke, of Manchester, was assisting Ukrainian armed forces but was killed far from the frontline by someone he knew, his inquest was told.

Manchester Area Coroner, Zak Golombeck, said Mr Burke, 36, “died with bravery and valour and was sadly killed by cowardice and dishonour”.

The suspect in the killing, an Australian national, is wanted by Ukrainian police after fleeing the war-torn country, the court was told.

Abdelfetah ‘Adam’ Nourine, a fighter in the Ukrainian army known as “Jihadi Adam”, who was not named in the inquest but is known by Greater Manchester Police, told Ukrainian police he shot Mr Burke accidentally while the two of them were practising drills 27 miles (44 km) away from the frontline.

The remains of Mr Burke, a former paratrooper, were found buried in an underground pipe at a military training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region.

“Whilst there was evidence initially presented that it was an accident, I reject that based on evidence gathered by Ukrainian authorities and Greater Manchester Police,” Mr Golombeck said

“[Mr Burke] was unarmed and unable to defend himself.”

Detective Sergeant Danielle Bullivant told the hearing Mr Burke set up a company called Dark Angels which was a group of former military personnel who went to the frontline to evacuate the injured.

The inquest heard he had previously travelled to Syria to fight against the so-called Islamic State group, after being “heavily affected” by the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

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