Kane Te Tai

A Kiwi soldier feared dead in Ukraine is being remembered as a man amongst men with a "wicked sense of humour". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on ...

Kane Te Tai's mother says she accepted he wanted to go to Ukraine, but never accepted she may never see him again.

wants him to be delivered" - No Duff co-founder Aaron Wood](/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018882825/veterans-group-is-orgranising-for-nzer-to-be-with-slain-soldier) We tried to stop him from going over but he had his mind made up." The war in Ukraine is unjust, it's an illegal invasion by Russia and so of course we want to support the Ukrainian people. wants him to be delivered" - No Duff co-founder Aaron Wood duration 6:12](/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018882825/veterans-group-is-orgranising-for-nzer-to-be-with-slain-soldier) [Download](https://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mdr/mdr-20230322-1211-veterans_group_is_orgranising_for_nzer_to_be_with_slain_soldier-128.mp3) ["His mother ... ["We tried to stop him from going over but he had his mind made up." He's been through so much in his young life and he's just a survivor. Te Tai said she would speak to her son while he was fighting in Ukraine, but he only told her the "lightest" of what was going on around him. Support pouring in to the charity in light of the news had been impressive and that would be needed to cover costs of travel and the procedures, Wood said. Ngaire Te Tai duration 2:36](/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018882775/mother-of-nzer-killed-in-ukraine-speaks-out) [Download](https://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20230322-0710-mother_of_nzer_killed_in_ukraine_speaks_out-128.mp3) ["We tried to stop him from going over but he had his mind made up." Ngaire Te Tai](/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018882775/mother-of-nzer-killed-in-ukraine-speaks-out) Te Tai said she and her son's father has no choice but to accept "what could have been the inevitable". She said she tried to stop the former Defence Force soldier from going to fight Russian forces in Ukraine, but he had made up his mind.

Kane Te Tai had been keeping in daily contact with his family back home, but that has suddenly stopped.

He told Wood he felt he had done good work and was training his replacement. And In April last year the father of one told TVNZ: “I’m hoping to come back, it will be great to see home again. Two New Zealanders have already been killed in Ukraine. New Zealand-trained Kane Te Tai has been fighting in Ukraine and had been keeping daily contact with his family back home. He was 47. "I tried to understand why he left the country and went to Ukraine.

Te Tai's initial motivation for going to a warzone was selfish, but that quickly changed. He came to love Ukraine and its people, and gained respect helping ...

In an interview after the mission, Te Tai said the team were unable to get his body back and it ended up in Russian hands, but that did not stop him from trying. and coming into this conflict was just one of those things that selfishly I thought I could be close to the war without getting too entangled. "But that's the problem isn't it? He promised he would return and walk him personally to hospital. He volunteered with Ukrainian families, taught civilians how to fight and eventually found a spot at the frontline as one of the team's leaders. Just serving people, that's what he did, that's what his message was." He would ensure people knew what they were signing up for, a way to get into the country and a unit to go to. That's his whole life... "But then that sort of changes... Te Tai said he was prepared to leave everything in Ukraine, but in the weeks before his death he had made moves to return home. "We're pulling all the pieces together. Te Tai always said to his friends he was not afraid to die, but he also was not afraid to live.

Kane Te Tai's death has not been officially confirmed but RNZ sources say they have been told of his death by his unit commander. His mother Ngaire Te Tai said ...

"He barely looked like the man I knew a couple of months ago. "It was my friend who I thought was killed by the Russians when they invaded his house. His service there first saw him training others to fight before he headed to the front lines as a member of a secretive reconnaissance unit in the country’s east. He knew he was missing something and he went over there to find it." He said Te Tai had carried out a favour for him recently "which I believe to this day saved another man’s life". Mark was among a cohort of New Zealanders who had pushed to build bonds and supply aid to Ukraine. "He’s one of those Kiwis who knew something was wrong and wanted to do something about it. "The desire to serve the greater good never goes away. He saw some things, I guess, and my son was a changed person." "He came back a different person. I hoped it would have worn off - but it didn’t." He’s a very complex fella, my son, but he’s always been very community spirited."

No Duff Charitable Trust for army veterans, which Te Tai co-founded, is trying to ensure a Kiwi goes with him every step of the way. Related News.