Briton who founded charity helping Ukrainian soldiers dies ‘in battlefield’

A British man who founded a charity providing support to Ukraine soldiers has died while fighting in the country, the organisation said.

Peter Fouché died last Thursday “in the battlefield” after getting badly injured “in combat against Russian forces”, Halyna Zhuk, commercial director and co-founder of Project Konstantin, said in a video message.

Fouché set up the charity in 2022 as a team of independent volunteers that provide essential supplies such as drones and food to Ukrainian soldiers. It also evacuates the soldiers and civilians and delivers humanitarian aid to conflict zones near the frontline.

In a statement shared on X on Sunday, Project Konstantin said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of Pete, our beloved director and founder. There are no words that can do Pete’s life justice. No words or phrases that could ever encapsulate how much he meant to all of us.

“Pete’s unwavering dedication, endless compassion, and relentless commitment to Ukraine and her people have left an everlasting impact on the countless lives he touched.”

Fouché had previously helped to build a field hospital in Kyiv before he founded Project Konstantin and later enlisted as a contracted soldier with the armed forces of Ukraine, according to the charity’s website.

It added that his “extraordinary” actions would “for ever be etched in our hearts”, and described his loss as the “worst nightmare”.

“Pete was more than a leader; he was a beacon of hope, a true hero, and a friend to all,” the charity said. “His wisdom, compassion, and faith in God inspired us every day.”

Project Konstantin became a registered charity last year and has thus far helped to evacuate 219 Ukrainian soldiers, according to its website. A Foreign Office spokesperson said it was supporting the family of a British man who had died in Ukraine and was in contact with local authorities.

Last September, a former British army soldier who had gone to the country to fight alongside Ukrainian soldiers was found dead in a body of water with his hands tied behind his back.

Jordan Chadwick, 31, who served in the Scots guards from 2011 to 2015, had travelled to Ukraine to fight in 2022.

In August 2023, Samuel Newey, from Solihull, was killed while fighting in east Ukraine, his family said. The 22-year-old had been volunteering as a fighter in Ukraine for more than a year.

Other Britons who have died in the country since the invasion by Russia in February 2022 include Simon Lingard, 38, from Blackburn, and Jordan Gatley, who died fighting Russian forces in the city of Sievierodonetsk in June 2023.

Scott Sibley, 36, died in April last year in Mykolaiv after a drone dropped mortars on his regiment and Craig Mackintosh, from Norfolk, was killed while volunteering as a medic in September 2022.