A former British soldier, Daniel Burke, who had travelled to Ukraine to assist in the war effort against Russia, was unlawfully killed by a fellow fighter, an inquest has concluded.
The 36-year-old from Manchester, a former paratrooper, died in August 2023 far from the frontline, with the suspect, an Australian national, now wanted by Ukrainian authorities.
Manchester Area Coroner, Zak Golombeck, ruled that Mr Burke, who had previously fought in Syria against ISIS, “died with bravery and valour and was sadly killed by cowardice and dishonour”.
The coroner’s statement came after it was revealed that the suspect, identified as Abdelfetah ‘Adam’ Nourine, a fighter in the Ukrainian army known as “Jihadi Adam,” had shot Mr Burke while the two were practising drills at a military training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, 27 miles from the frontline.
While Nourine initially claimed to Ukrainian authorities that the shooting was an accident, the inquest found insufficient evidence to support this.
Mr Burke, who had set up a group of former military personnel to evacuate the injured, was unarmed and unable to defend himself at the time of his death.
The investigation revealed that Mr Burke had been shot at least three times — in the head, neck, and chest — with ballistics tests showing that it would have been impossible to fire the weapon accidentally.
Ukrainian police had been informed of Nourine’s conflicting accounts of the incident, which led to further investigation. Nourine allegedly led authorities to the site where Mr Burke’s remains were found buried in an underground pipe.
The killing has sparked outrage, particularly from Mr Burke’s mother, Diane Snaith, who expressed her heartbreak over the manner of her son’s death.
“My heartache will always be there because Daniel’s gone, and gone in such an awful manner that I’ll never, ever get over it,” she said in an interview with the BBC.
Further details from the inquest painted a tragic picture of Mr Burke’s final moments. On the morning of August 11, he had spoken with his family and planned a later Facetime call.
CCTV footage showed him with Nourine throughout the day before they travelled together to the abandoned training ground.
Despite Nourine’s claims that he accidentally fired two shots during a training exercise, it remains unclear why he would have taken such actions.
The Ukrainian authorities, with assistance from Greater Manchester Police, have found no evidence to support the accident theory.
Mr Burke’s involvement in the war effort had roots in personal tragedy; he was deeply affected by the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, which led him to join Kurdish forces in Syria.
His company, Dark Angels, was focused on evacuating casualties from the battlefield, a testament to his commitment to humanitarian causes.
The Australian national, Nourine, fled Ukraine after the incident, and Ukrainian police have since requested legal assistance from the Australian Consulate to further question him. However, there has been no response to the request as of February 2024.
Mrs. Snaith has expressed her frustration, stating, “I don’t see why he should have a normal life and just walk away and think it’s okay.”
She added, “If he’s a trained soldier, he would not have let that gun fire. There is no way.” The tragic case continues to unfold as authorities work to bring the suspect to justice.
