Australian believed killed fighting in Ukraine
Andy Park: A Queensland labourer who travelled to Ukraine three years ago to join the fight against Russia is feared to have been killed in battle with authorities yet to locate his remains.
Caleb List: I wanted to test myself. I wanted to, like, again, I wanted to join the French Foreign Legion. I wanted to push myself to the extreme. So, I came here with the same motivation and basically done that. And now I just, I just do this because that's the only thing I'm really good at.
Andy Park: Former Gladstone resident Caleb List speaking to the German public broadcaster last year. The ABC's defence correspondent Andrew Greene has the story. Andrew, what do we know about Caleb List's journey to the front line?
Andrew Greene: He's a young man in his twenties and had lived in Gladstone in Queensland. He'd worked at the Yarwan refinery as a trade assistant, according to his social media pages. In about 2022, he noticed what was happening in Ukraine and decided to head to Europe to join the Foreign Legion in armed services. But before doing so, we also know that Caleb List had been an army cadet while at school and had tried unsuccessfully to join the Australian army. So, three years ago, like other foreign fighters around the world, he made the journey to Ukraine to enlist in that country's Foreign Legion.
Andy Park: And what do we know about his presumed death?
Andrew Greene: We believe that he has been missing since late April. So, members of his unit, the Foreign Legion in which he was serving, say he has not been seen since about April 28. He was taking part in fierce fighting that was occurring in eastern Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, near the city of Izhimur. But the Australian has not been heard of since and his comrades fear that he has been killed and his body has been unable to be recovered. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is not saying very much at all. In fact, it's citing privacy reasons for not commenting, but it has again reminded Australians not to travel to that part of the world. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, was speaking to the ABC this morning and did confirm that the case was being examined.
Penny Wong: I'm always constrained in terms of these matters as a result of privacy. But I will just simply say that this is a very dangerous place to be. And we are assisting, providing consular assistance to a family in relation to this matter.
Andy Park: Foreign Minister Penny Wong there. And Andrew, what do we know about the other Australians who have been captured or killed in Ukraine?
Andrew Greene: Since the war broke out, there have been a number of Australians confirmed as killed on the Ukrainian battlefield. Precise numbers tend to vary, but it's certainly getting close to a dozen Australians who have now lost their life in Ukraine. We know there's also a high profile prisoner of war, Oscar Jenkins, who remains in Russian captivity. Earlier this week, also confirmation that in recent days, another Australian man and a former soldier, Nick Parsons, was killed while working for a non-government organisation clearing landmines in Ukraine. He was killed in an incident that is believed to involve an improvised explosive device, which killed him and a British national.
Andy Park: Defence correspondent Andrew Greene.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Children account for one in three e-scooter deaths
Isabella Higgins: Amid a rising national death toll from e-scooter accidents, new research has found one third are children and Queensland has recorded the highest death rate amongst kids. It's now facing calls to urgently ban young people from e-scooters with doctors labelling it a public health emergency. Annie Guest reports from Brisbane. Annie Guest: When her 11-year-old son Gavin landed 30 metres from his e-scooter, Sunshine Coast mum Angela Boldt says only the neighbour's dog saw it and his barking sounded the alarm. Angela Boldt: He was in a critical condition and was on the street with a river of blood coming from his head and unconscious. Annie Guest: Gavin was airlifted to Brisbane for emergency brain surgery with doctors warning that her son was unlikely to live. Gavin survived but he's still suffering. Angela Boldt: He wasn't the same kid. Sorry. It's taken this full year and he still has post-amnesia moments. He has vision issues, he has frontal lobe damage and it's affected our entire family. Annie Guest: She'd permitted Gavin to ride in the cul-de-sac behind their house with his helmet on. It later became clear he didn't wear it and his e-scooter could go twice the 25km per hour speed limit. Only Queensland and the ACT allowed children under 16 on e-scooters. They're required to have adult supervision. Angela Boldt didn't know that. Angela Boldt: No, when we purchased this item, when we bought it, I didn't even know that there was an age restriction. You just go, "oh, it's a scooter, I see everybody else on the street with them". Annie Guest: Dr Matthew Clanfield has looked at 176 e-scooter accidents involving children who were treated at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. In 2023 and 2024, he says many were unsupervised. Matthew Clanfield: We had half the kids not wearing helmets. We had 36% of kids admitting to going over the maximum speed limit in Queensland of 25km an hour. Annie Guest: Dr Clanfield's research is published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Matthew Clanfield: I can say that this is a public health emergency. Annie Guest: There's no official national tally. So, Associate Professor Milad Haghani, from the University of Melbourne searched five and a half years of media reports to find 36 deaths, one third of which were children. And more kids died in e-scooter accidents in Queensland than any other state. So Dr Clanfield and Dr Haghani are urging the Queensland Government to ban children under 16 from e-scooters immediately before there are more deaths. Queensland's Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg wasn't available, releasing a statement attributing the accidents to unsafe and unlawful riding. He pointed to the state's parliamentary inquiry into e-scooters due to report next March. Isabella Higgins: Annie Guest reporting there.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Brit drug mule suspect arrested after flying out of Thailand
A young mum is being detained in Germany for allegedly smuggling cannabis in her bags on a flight from Thailand – in yet another shocking case. Cameron Bradford, 21, from Knebworth in the north of Hertfordshire, England, was detained at Germany's Munich Airport on April 21 as she tried to collect her luggage. Her arrest comes amid a significant spike in Brits being caught trafficking drugs from Thailand. Sources say Cameron was initially supposed to fly into London Heathrow via Singapore, but changed her flight to Munich at the last minute, serving as a red flag to German authorities. A family friend said Cameron had travelled to Thailand on her own and posted a photo of the ocean on her Facebook account just days before her arrest. Sources say she could face at least four months in a German prison while authorities investigate the origin of the drugs. When Cameron, who has a young son, didn't return home on her Heathrow bound flight as expected, her family filed a missing persons report. But the next day the family was alerted to her whereabouts in Germany. Chief prosecutor Anne Leiding of the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office said: 'We can confirm that we are conducting proceedings in this matter. 'The defendant is still in custody.' The prosecution is refusing to discuss the charges or even give a trial date, citing the ongoing investigation. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British woman who is detained in Germany and are in contact with her family and the local authorities.' In 2024, Germany legalised cannabis for recreational use by adults aged 18 and over. But despite a raft of publicity around the law change two essential points were missed. The law does not extend to tourists or nonresidents, including Brits. It's also interpreted differently across all of Germany's 16 federal states. And crucially the unauthorised import of cannabis, even for personal use, is strictly illegal and carries a hefty five years in prison. It comes after a British couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand were busted with more than 33kg of cannabis in their suitcases at a Spanish airport. The pair were picked out by suspicious cops at Valencia Airport after displaying a 'nervous and evasive attitude' and are now behind bars on drug trafficking charges. The man and woman, aged 33 and 34, were stopped before reaching customs, with officials later discovering vacuum-packed marijuana and no clothes or personal belongings in their luggage. Police said the pair will not yet be named but were arrested late on May 5 and hauled to court the next day. Their court appearance, which led to their remand in prison, took place behind-closed-doors as is normal in Spain where only trials are held in public. The two British nationals are not expected to find out for several months now whether they will be formally indicted and face trial.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Today show host shuts down super tax squabble between Matt Canavan and Larissa Waters
A Today show host has stepped in to shut down a super tax squabble between the Greens leader and a Nationals senator, telling them to 'save it'. The Labor government's proposal, which will hit super balances of more than $3m with a 30 per cent tax, is unpopular with the opposition. Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan told Today's Jayne Azzopardi on Wednesday morning that the party was prepared to 'fight to the death' to oppose the tax. 'There's no way in hell we'll support attacks on people that don't have the means to pay for it,' he said. 'This so-called tax on unrealised gains is incredibly unfair. We should have a basic principle that we should only tax people where you've got some sort of income to be able to pay the tax man.' Senator Canavan said many Australians, including farmers, may be asset rich yet cash poor with no cash flow to pay the annual tax bill. 'There's no way in hell we'll support that. We'll fight that to the death,' he added. 'I hope the Greens won't give them the green light on this to put in such an unfair tax.' However, Greens leader Larissa Waters maintained the tax was needed to 'raise revenue' for things such as hospitals, schools and clean, cheap renewable energy. 'I think it's important to remember that nobody watching your show would be impacted by this tax,' she said. 'It would touch only half a per cent of people – we are talking about folk who have an awful lot of money in their super accounts. That is not ordinary people. 'So let's see what the government comes up with themselves about what the details should be (and) we will have those discussions when the government puts something on the table.' Senator Waters was swiftly cut off by Senator Canavan, who quipped: 'What about the farmers?' The Greens leader hit back with 'I'm sure they've probably got better things to do than be sitting around watching telly' as Senator Canavan repeated himself three times. The pair were cut off by Azzopardi, who was seemingly keen to wrap things up. 'You can save this argument for the Senate,' she told the disgruntled politicians. The Greens have already given the policy in-principle support, negating the need for Labor to seek bipartisan support in the Senate. However, the minor party has argued for the threshold to be lowered to $2m, with indexation requirements that would result in the threshold increasing over time. Although the Coalition has indicated that it is open for negotiations, this is contingent on including indexation provisions and excluding the tax on unrealised gains like property.
