British volunteer combat medic found dead in her Kyiv bed

A British volunteer medic working in Ukraine is reported to have been found dead at her home in Kyiv.

Katherine Mielniczuk’s body was found in bed on Christmas Eve by members of her unit, the 151st Special Operations Forces Unit, according to Ukrainian volunteer organisation Project Konstantin.

Ms Mielniczuk, who was 25 and a former chemistry student at Bristol University, reportedly spent the last 18 months volunteering in Ukraine in a medical and operational capacity.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office could not confirm the identity of the deceased but said that it was “supporting the family of a British woman who died in Ukraine”.

Project Konstantin said the cause of Ms Mielniczuk’s death was not being treated as suspicious but that further information will be released later by authorities.

In a video posted in July, Ms Mielniczuk – who was known as “Kat” – told a journalist she had worked in acute medicine for six years before volunteering in Ukraine.

She said she made the decision after “seeing vulnerable children being killed in Kharkiv and Izyum and parts of Kyiv”.

“If I have even two hands and two legs and half a brain, it’s my duty to go and help,” she said, standing in a khaki bullet-proof vest with a British flag sewn onto it.

She added: “I will stay as long as it’s perhaps not safe to be here or until I need to go back to my brother or my mother. I feel safe and competent in this country.”

Ms Mielniczuk said the goal of her unit – composed of “200 foreigners” – was to assist medics on the ground with critical equipment and vehicle repairs and fuel.

Ms Mielniczuk’s family released a statement saying: “It is impossible to truly convey what an incredible woman Katherine was or how deeply and widely she was loved and will be missed. Kasia is gone, but the endless warmth, love and grace she brought to the world will never be lost.”