Australian charity volunteer killed in Ukraine
An Australian man has died in Ukraine while working for a landmine-clearing charity.
Nick Parsons, 28, was volunteering for the mine clearance charity Prevail Together, which helps to disarm landmines, when he was killed in the city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region earlier this month.
The charity's co-founder, Chris Garrett, a British bomb disposal expert, was also killed in the incident, which severely injured another volunteer.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his 'deepest condolences and sympathies' to Parsons' family.
'I can confirm he wasn't a participant in the conflict, he was volunteering with a humanitarian organisation. I do want to remind Australians that Ukraine is a do not travel zone,' Albanese said at a press conference on Monday.
'The situation is extremely dangerous and we continue to strongly advise all Australians not to travel to Ukraine, under any circumstances.'
Albanese said the government was limited in what it could say publicly about the incident at this time.
Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, paid tribute to Parsons, saying he had sacrificed his life on a courageous mission to help the people of Ukraine.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was providing consular support to the Australian man's family.
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