A former British soldier who went out to Ukraine to help in the war effort against Russia was unlawfully killed by a “comrade”, a coroner has found.
Daniel Burke, of Manchester, was assisting Ukrainian armed forces but was killed far from the frontline in August 2023 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.
Mr Burke’s mother Diane Snaith told the BBC: “My heartache will always be there because Daniel’s gone and gone in, you know, such an awful manner that I’ll never, ever get over it.
On 11 August, Mr Burke spoke to his family in the morning and planned to contact them over Facetime later that day, Det Sgt Bullivant said.
CCTV showed him spending the day with Mr Nourine, and in the late afternoon travelling to an abandoned training ground.
As part of local police investigations after Mr Burke went missing, the suspect was interviewed and gave separate versions of events, the inquest heard.
He led Ukrainian police to Mr Burke’s body and told them he had accidentally killed him during a training exercise.
He claimed he had fired at least two shots – one accidentally while he was carrying Mr Burke in a training exercise and a second for reasons unknown.
The court heard a post-mortem examination found Mr Burke had been shot at least three times – in his head, lower neck and central chest.
Results of ballistics investigations carried out in Ukraine suggested it was impossible to accidentally fire the weapon, an assault rifle, Det Sgt Bullivant told the inquest.