• New Zealand soldier Shan-Le Kearns has been killed fighting in Ukraine.
• The 26-year-old’s mother told 1News it would take at least six months for her son’s body to be recovered.
• Images of the soldier’s body have been shared on Russian Telegram channels.

Kiwi soldier Shan-Le Kearns has died fighting in Ukraine.

The 26-year-old’s family confirmed to 1News he wasn’t on the front line but had been trained in combat when he arrived there so he could help rescue those who were injured on the battlefield.

“He was saving lives. Then he was going back to save more, when a drone dropped a grenade on him,” his mother Elis told 1 News.

She said, at this stage, he could not be brought home.

“He is in bits and pieces in enemy territory. They have tried to retrieve [him], but were unsuccessful. They have told us at the very earliest it will be six months before anything can get done.”

Earlier this month, in photos shared on a Telegram group and seen by the Herald, Russian mercenaries celebrated the soldier’s death.

In the same Telegram channel, disturbing videos and photos of his body were shared.

Kearns is the fourth Kiwi killed in the conflict and the third NZ soldier to die fighting in Ukraine against the Russians.

Dominic Bryce Abelen was on leave from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) when he was killed in a firefight trying to retake an enemy trench in July 2022.

In March 2023, Kane Te Tai became the second Kiwi soldier killed in Ukraine.

New Zealand aid volunteer Dr Andrew Bagshaw, 47, was also killed, alongside British volunteer Christopher Parry, 28, while trying to rescue an elderly woman in an area of intense military action when their car was hit by an artillery shell in January 2023.

In March this year, Abelen‘s body was finally recovered and farewelled in an emotional ceremony where four soldiers in Abelen’s unit performed a haka in front of the former soldier’s coffin during the ceremony.

David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.