Kane Te Tai was the third New Zealander to die in the Ukraine conflict. Photo: Supplied
New Zealand's fallen soldier in Ukraine will be remembered for his service within the New Zealand Defence Force, the Veterans' Affairs Minister says.
The former NZDF soldier Kane Te Tai was killed in combat in March while working on the front line in Ukraine.
He was buried in Waikumete, a service plot in Auckland earlier in April after being repatriated home from Ukraine.
Te Tai had travelled to Ukraine in April 2022 and had worked as a volunteer, humanitarian and eventually as the leader of a reconnaissance unit on the front line.
He had joined the New Zealand army in 2002 when he was just 17 and served in deployments to Afghanistan.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Meka Whaitiri said while the New Zealand government condemns the illegal occupation of Ukraine, it had been clear about not sending troops to the conflict.
The government had made it clear those who chose to fight were going of their own accord, without the support of the New Zealand Defence Force, Whaitiri said.
Te Tai will be honoured for his service to the NZDF, she said.
"He will be remembered but we had to make it very clear for those New Zealand soldiers who chose to go and fight that they were doing it on their own responsibility and understanding.
"Of course it wasn't something sanctioned by the New Zealand government or the Defence Force but that does not stop the reality that some have chosen to fight.
"Alongside his family we mourn the loss of their son, their brother, their fiancé."
Whaitiri said she had personally assisted the family in being able to bring Te Tai's Ukrainian fiancé over for the funeral.
While his passing was of a circumstance he chose, they will still honour him on Anzac Day for his service to the Defence Force.
Te Tai was the third New Zealander to die in the conflict.
Humanitarian, Andrew Bagshaw - who was on leave without pay from the NZDF - was killed in January while evacuating a woman from Bakhmut and Corporal Dominic Abelen who was killed while on leave without pay from the Defence Force.
"As a nation and as a government we have stood up to what's taking place in Ukraine and calling out the illegal war that's caused by Russia but that's highlighting why peace is so critical in our junction, in our history, as a nation, but also internationally the significance of why we try to use diplomatic channels to solve indifference," Whaitiri said.
"So yes we think about Ukraine people at this particular time but that doesn't take away our Kiwi's who have served for our Defence Force internationally and given time to our service."
