EXCLUSIVE Read the tragic last messages from the Aussie tradie feared dead in in Ukraine - and the little white lies he told his parents to stop them worrying
An Australian tradie feared killed by Russian forces had told his family he was studying at a German university while actually fighting on the frontline in Ukraine.
Queenslander Caleb List opened up in a series of haunting messages to Daily Mail Australia in the months before he vanished and is now feared dead.
He had been serving in the Ukrainian army since 2022 after he had been rejected from joining the Australian military, he said.
The 25-year-old from Gladstone is believed to have died last month after being hit by artillery fire in a contested territory near the city of Izyum, in the Kharkiv region.
Since enlisting, Mr List had sent encrypted messages from Ukraine's trenches to Daily Mail Australia journalist Jonica Bray to give updates on his time in the war-ravaged country.
In them, he revealed the real reason he was risking his life to fight for Ukraine, why he was a prized target for Russia, and why he kept it all secret from his parents.
'It's not as crazy as most people think,' he said about what day-to-day was like in a warzone that's seen almost one million killed or wounded.
'There are scary moments and bad thing happen around Ukraine every day, but it's a normal country and it still has to operate like one.
'The only thing is there's a giant war in the background.'
Thousands of foreign fighters like Mr List had signed up to help defend Ukraine, despite warnings from their governments, including Australia, not to travel there.
The Aussie tradie spent anywhere from days to weeks in the trenches where he was heavily armed, alongside both local soldiers and other foreign legion members of the army.
'It could be quiet. We could get bombed or the trench could get assaulted,' he said.
'Then I come home to the back lines, I do some training, eat some food, work on hobbies, call and message family, friends and other loved ones.
'Kind of like what normal people do on their weekends. Then, the cycle repeats itself.'
He said he volunteered to defend Ukraine - which he'd never visited previously - after being shunned by the Australian Defence Force.
Despite that setback, Mr List decided to head to Europe in 2022 to fulfill his lifelong dream of one day becoming a soldier and see military action.
His initial plan was to join the French Foreign Legion, but while on his way to France to sign up, Russia invaded Ukraine, and his whole life changed.
While on a drunken binge in Poland, Mr List crossed the border where he spotted a tent with the sign 'Legionnaire.'
He enrolled and then admitted he blacked out in a drunken stupor for the rest of the day.
That night the entire base was blown up in an artillery attack and Mr List and others had to flee into the neighbouring forest to take cover.
After about a month of basic training, he was transferred to the frontline, but kept the news from his family.
Mr List said he used various encrypted apps to communicate because he believed that as an Australian, he had a bounty on his head.
'It puts my life in danger if they know where I am,' he said. 'I just become a target on pro-Russian Telegram [messaging apps] groups.'
Mr List's last messages were received in March, just a few weeks before he is believed to have been killed in April.
In those messages, Mr List revealed his parents still did not know he was back in combat.
'I went back to the front again. I have some more scars, but I'm good living the dream,' he said.
'At the moment my parents think that I am studying over in Germany.
'I will tell them soon. But at the moment there are bigger family problems to deal with than my choice in profession.'
It's believed this was Mr List's third stint in a job that he insisted 'pays well' at $3.900 per month with a 'combat bonus' of $2,698 for every 30 days you are on the frontline.
'That's triple the average Ukrainian wage,' he said.
With no family connections, heritage or affiliations with the Ukraine, Mr List said he was used to people asking him why he's there, but after three years he was still unsure how to reply.
'Why I'm still here? It is not a fully easy question to answer,' he admitted to Daily Mail Australia.
'There are several things that make me stay here and choose to continue to serve under the Ukrainian Army.
'But it seems quite selfish to leave all my Ukrainian friends behind to deal with a war.
'I'll stay until I'm ready to leave.'
Mr List's uncle Michael Connolly spoke to media on Thursday and said the family is devastated by news of his likely death, but had not yet given up all hope.
'We're all in a bit of shock and we all are waiting on news to come out of the area,' Mr Connolly said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Australian universities urge Albanese to join New Zealand in $170bn Europe fund amid Trump attacks on education
Australian universities are urging the Albanese government to join New Zealand in a $170bn Europe research fund amid US president Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on higher education and international students. Universities Australia's executive officer, Luke Sheehy, travelled to Brussels this week to meet representatives from the European Commission and the Australian ambassador, Angus Campbell, to discuss the possibility of joining Horizon Europe. The seven-year scientific collaborative research fund, with a budget of €95.5bn ($168bn), has 20 non-European partners – including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada – but the Australian government has so far been reluctant to join. Industry insiders have attributed the government's reluctance to potential costs. New Zealand will pay €19m ($33m) over five years to be part of the program. The EU is drawing up strategies for the next seven-year funding cycle, due to begin in 2028, with a proposal expected to be announced mid-year. About €36bn ($63bn) is still available to the end of 2027. In comparison, Australia's total annual spend on research across all sectors is less than $40bn. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Sheehy said in a rapidly changing global environment, association with the body would give Australian researchers access to a mega-fund and support international collaboration on key sectors, including health and the environment. 'Growing geopolitical uncertainties are threatening to reshape our existing research alliances and we must adapt to remain ahead of the game,' he said. 'If we're serious about building a prosperous and productive economy, we need a seat at the table, particularly in a changing and more complex global environment.' The trade minister, Don Farrell, is in Paris this week restarting negotiations on a trade deal with the EU. Sheehy 'strongly encourage[d]' him to make Australia's involvement in Horizon Europe a focus of conversations. 'There is a strong appetite in Europe to have Australia come on board,' Sheehy said. 'This would remove the biggest roadblock for Australian researchers and scientists working with their European and other counterparts around the world. It's mutually beneficial. 'For what is a relatively modest investment, our best and brightest would gain access to billions of dollars in potential funding to take their work to the next level.' The higher eduction sector has closely focussed on Horizon Europe since the Trump administration was accused of possible 'foreign interference' in Australia's universities in March, pausing funding for programs at more than six universities. Researchers who receive US funding were sent a questionnaire asking them to confirm they aligned with US government interests and promoted administration priorities – including avoiding 'DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal'. Australia's Group of Eight CEO, Vicki Thomson, wrote to then-industry minister, Ed Husic, earlier this year on behalf of its member universities and the European Australian Business Council (EABC) CEO, Jason Collins, urging Australia to associate with the research fund. It has prepared a brief for the ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, at his request. Thomson, also the EABC deputy chair, has lobbied the government to join Horizon Europe for more than a decade. She will be meeting with stakeholders for negotiations in the next fortnight as part of an EABC delegation to Europe. Thomson said association with Horizon Europe was 'critical' to boosting productivity and providing essential buffers against negative global trends. 'Like trade, changes to the global research funding environment are also sending shocks around the world,' she said. 'The US is withdrawing from international research collaboration through the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies as well as defunding research in diversity, equity and inclusion. 'In the face of this, it is imperative that Australia maintains and extends international research collaboration through formal association with Horizon Europe.' The Australian Academy of Science president, Prof Chennupati Jagadish AC, also wants Australia to join the lucrative research fund, pointing to a possible research vacuum in the face of an increasingly unstable US. In April, the body announced a new global talent attraction program to capitalise on academics disfranchised by the Trump administration's research cuts. Americans represent 40% of collaborators in Australian physical sciences publications – including observational systems relied on for cyclone tracking capability and onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing. Jagadish said the government must 'immediately act to diversify risk' by expanding international research collaborations, focusing on Horizon Europe. The industry minister, Madeleine King, was approached for comment.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Aussies react to shock arrest video of young Aboriginal woman in tiny town
Aussies have questioned the use of force used by officers during the arrest of a young Aboriginal woman in Western Australia. Officers detained the 25-year-old woman from Millars Well, a town about 540km northeast of Exmouth, after she allegedly breached bail conditions on Monday. Footage of the arrest, shared on Facebook, shows the woman screaming as she is pulled from a car, handcuffed on the ground and carried by two officers to a van. As a crowd gathered outside the home, a female officer was seen gesturing with a can of pepper spray to try and stop them from approaching. Another police vehicle with more officers arrived as the woman was put in the van. At least two male officers could then be seen approaching the group and pushing them away from the police van. Shocked viewers questioned the officers' use of force in the comments. 'I legit got tears. This is very triggering,' one person wrote. 'There was no need for this kind of force,' a second said. 'If they don't know how to work with mob, why don't they talk to the elders in community and get help,' a third commented. 'This town is not far from where I live,' a fourth added. 'This behaviour by police is so unnecessary!' The woman was not injured during the arrest and no medical assistance was required, WA Police told Daily Mail Australia in a statement. The woman was arrested for allegedly breaching her bail conditions by being at a home in Millars Well. 'It will be alleged as the woman was being arrested, she obstructed police, locking herself in a vehicle,' police said in a statement. Officers were called to the home about 10:30am on Monday after an alleged physical altercation between people known to each other. Police had responded to an incident at the same location earlier that day. WA Police declined to comment on the way officers handled the incident. The woman has since been charged with one count each of obstructing public officers, common assault in circumstances of aggravation or racial aggravation and possessing a prohibited drug, methylamphetamine. She appeared in court on Monday and is next due to appear before the Karratha Magistrates Court on July 29. The arrest video came just days after the shocking death of an Indigenous man Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs on May 27. NT Police last week said White 'stopped breathing' after he was restrained by two officers and confirmed the death is being investigated on behalf of the coroner. It is the second death to rock the small Yuendumu community and comes six years after Kumanjayi Walker was shot dead by NT Police officer Zachary Rolfe.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Australia's most notorious killer is now so overweight he needs three mattresses to sleep on - as details emerge about his pen pal girlfriend
Australia's worst mass murderer, Martin Bryant, is now so overweight he reportedly needs to sleep on three mattresses stacked on top of each other. The 58-year-old also spends his time in Risdon Prison Complex boasting to inmates about a supposed long-distance romance with a woman he calls his 'girlfriend'. Byrant is serving 35 life sentences over the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania. In new details obtained exclusively by the Daily Telegraph, it was revealed Bryant is considered 'lower than zero' on the food chain by his fellow inmates. Former inmate Jackson, who was cell neighbours with Bryant, gave a bleak account of his condition behind bars, describing him as untidy, dirty and suffering from acne. The mass murderer is reportedly now so large he sleeps on three 10cm thick mattresses stacked on top of each other in his tiny cell bed, which he rarely leaves. Most bizarrely, Jackson revealed Bryant had a reputation for previously giving sexual favours, in return for chocolates and sweets. 'He's had a few sexual experiences in jail so someone will tease him and go "How about you swap me a head job for a Mars Bar" with such and such,' he said. Jackson recalled the moment he finally summoned the courage to ask Bryant about the Port Arthur massacre, saying the killer's face immediately shifted. He added that he wasn't sure Bryant's mother still visited him but that the killer would speak frequently about a woman he claimed to be in a relationship with. The woman, said to own a horse property in Victoria, was one of 10 people approved by the jail service to have phone calls with Bryant. Jackson said he wasn't sure if the woman ever visited Bryant in jail but that he had once been shown a photo of her by the notorious killer. Former prison guard Tony Burley told the Daily Telegraph he had caught the murderer fixating on himself and other guards with an intense stare. He said this only added to his reputation as an odd and isolated figure. 'In terms of the food chain, he's lower than zero,' Mr Burley said. 'It's not that people don't like him, he just doesn't exist.' 'No one would know who he was, he's not a concern to anybody. He's not targeted, he's nobody.' The Port Arthur massacre remains one of the darkest days in Australia's history. At the time, it was considered the world's worst massacre, with 35 people killed and 23 injured by Martin Byrant, who is serving 35 life sentences and more than a thousand additional years' jail without parole. Bryant has never explained his actions but investigators have speculated the murders were sparked out of retribution for grievances. Others were collateral damage. The shooting prompted significant gun reform under then-prime minister John Howard via the 1996 National Firearms Agreement. The laws banned rapid-fire guns from civilian ownership except under certain, restricted licences. It also tightened requirements for firearms licensing, registration and safe storage and established a government buyback of semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns.
