Paul Hughes says one of the most difficult moments of his life was placing a Canadian flag over the body bag of a soldier from Alberta killed during a bloody battle in eastern Ukraine.
Hughes carefully drove an ambulance carrying the body of Kyle Porter for more than four hours from an area near Bakhmut where the Canadian and another soldier, Cole Zelenco, were killed during fierce fighting last week.
“I draped the Canadian flag over him. That hit me as hard as I’ve been hit in the 14 months I’ve been in Ukraine,” Hughes said in a phone interview from Kharkiv after retrieving Porter’s body Tuesday.
“My heart goes out to (their families). The deepest condolences.”
Zelenco, 21, was from St. Catharines, Ont., and was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, his mother, Lynn Baxter, said in a phone interview from her home.
Baxter said her son first went over to the war-torn country last April and returned to Canada three months later before going on his second tour in October.
“He was very passionate about protecting Ukrainians, and just trying to keep their lives as stabilized as possible.”
“He kept quite a bit hidden from me just so I wouldn’t worry,” she said.
Baxter doesn’t know much about the attack that killed her son but was told he didn’t suffer. “I’m very grateful for that.”
Zelenco was described in an online fundraiser as strong and courageous with a fierce sense of loyalty.
Hughes is a farmer and community activist from Calgary who has been in Ukraine for more than a year. He runs HUGS Helping Ukraine, a grassroots support agency that partners with local humanitarian agencies, out of Kharkiv.
Hughes said it has been a “barbaric and vicious war” and where the men were killed is an epicentre.
“It’s hell on Earth. It’s a bad, bad, bad place,” Hughes said.
“(They) will be remembered for their bravery and their sacrifice in defence of Ukraine’s freedom and peace in Europe,” the post said.
Baxter said she is heartbroken but proud her son stood up for what he believes in.