Friends and colleagues are mourning a young British woman working as a medical volunteer in Ukraine, who has been found dead in Kyiv.
Katherine Mielniczuk’s body was found in bed at her home on Christmas Eve morning by members of her unit, the 151st Special Operations Forces Unit.
Reports said the 25-year-old was originally from a Polish-Ukrainian family.
It’s understood that Ms Mielniczuk, also known as Kat or Apache, had studied chemistry at Bristol University before moving to Kent, then going to Ukraine at the start of the war.
Ukrainian volunteer organisation Project Konstantin, with whom she worked, said the cause of her death at this stage was not being treated as suspicious.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the passing away of Kat,” the organisation wrote.
“We learned of this dreadful news a couple of hours ago and after talks with her family, we have offered to help.”
The group, which supplies soldiers with medical and technical equipment, added: “Further information will be released later by the authorities.
“For now, we’re focusing on the pain that her family is enduring and we’re trying to appease their suffering by affording them the chance to fly out to Ukraine and we want to assist with repatriation costs.
“Rest in peace, Apache.”
The group set up a page for donations.
Canadian group HUGS Helping Ukraine – Grassroots Support paid tribute to her as “a unique and passionate volunteer”.
Ms Mielniczuk served as an instructor and combat medic with a group called Menace Medics.
“At Menace Medics, our goal is to assist the medics on the ground with critical medical equipment and vehicle repairs/fuel, which will transcend our ability to operate, thus saving the lives of courageous foreign combatants and relentless Ukrainian soldiers,” she wrote in her blog.
Ten years ago, when Ms Mielniczuk was 15, she was hailed a hero for rescuing a young fox cub trapped at the bottom of a large drop outside a terraced house in London.
“I was determined to help it – I didn’t want to let it die. After all, it ended up trapped through no fault of its own, so why should it have had to suffer?” she told News Shopper at the time.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said:“We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Ukraine, and are in touch with the local authorities.”
