Kane Te Tai was the third New Zealander to die in the Ukraine conflict. Photo / Supplied
One of New Zealand's fallen soldiers in Ukraine will be remembered for his service within the New Zealand Defence Force, the Veterans' Affairs Minister says.
Kane Te Tai was killed in fighting in Ukraine in March.
He was repatriated to the Navy Marae on Auckland's North Shore and buried in Waikumete, a service plot in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Te Tai had travelled to Ukraine in April 2022 and had worked as a volunteer, humanitarian and eventually as the leader of a reconnaissance unit on the front line.
He had joined the New Zealand army in 2002 when he was just 17 and served in deployments to Afghanistan.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Meka Whaitiri said while the New Zealand government condemned the illegal occupation of Ukraine, it had been clear about not sending troops to the conflict.
The government had made it clear those who chose to fight were going of their own accord, without the support of the New Zealand Defence Force, Whaitiri said.
Te Tai would be honoured for his service to the New Zealand Defence Force, she said.
After a mammoth three-day journey, Kane Te Tai, the New Zealand soldier who died in the war in Ukraine has returned home. Video / Tumamao Harawira / Te Ao Mārama
"He will be remembered but we had to make it very clear for those New Zealand soldiers who chose to go and fight that they were doing it on their own responsibility and understanding.
"It wasn't something sanctioned by the New Zealand government or the Defence Force but that does not stop the reality that some have chosen to fight.
"Alongside his family we mourn the loss of their son, their brother, their fiancé."
Whaitiri said she had personally assisted the family in being able to bring Te Tai's Ukrainian fiancé over for the funeral.
While his death was of a circumstance he chose, they will still honour him on Anzac Day for his service to the Defence Force.
Te Tai was the third New Zealander to die in the conflict.
Humanitarian Andrew Bagshaw - who was on leave without pay from the NZDF - was killed in January while evacuating a woman from Bakhmut and Corporal Dominic Abelen who was killed while on leave without pay from the Defence Force.
"As a nation and as a government we have stood up to what's taking place in Ukraine and calling out the illegal war that's caused by Russia but that's highlighting why peace is so critical in our junction, in our history, as a nation, but also internationally the significance of why we try to use diplomatic channels to solve indifference," Whaitiri said.
"So yes we think about Ukraine people at this particular time but that doesn't take away from our Kiwis who have served for our Defence Force internationally and given time to our service."
