Ukraine confirmed on Saturday that a Dutchman who fought in the war against Russia was killed. The man is mentioned in a Facebook message of the Foreign Legion of the Reserve Branch of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As far as is known, he is the first Dutchman to have died in the battle in Ukraine.
The man would have been called Ronald Vogelaar, but it is not clear from the Facebook message how old he was or where he came from. Nor do the Ukrainians say when the Dutchman died.
It appears to be the same man whose death The Telegraph early May reported† The newspaper then reported the death of a 55-year-old man named Ron, who was allegedly killed in an artillery shelling near Kharkov. Other media names that news then about and called along with the surname Vogelaar. The artillery shelling at Kharkov is also reflected in the stories of journalists from the AFP news agency. According to the news agency, they were at Vogelaar’s funeral on 21 May.
This article is also part of our live blog: Defense Ukraine confirms: Dutch fighter killed