The mother of a New Zealander killed while fighting in Ukraine says she tried to stop him from going to the war zone but he'd made up his mind.
Kane Te Tai's death hasn't been officially confirmed but RNZ sources say they've been told by his unit commander.
Unlike his friend Dominic Abelen who was killed last August his body has been recovered.
The former defence force soldier had been fighting the Russian invasion for almost a year.
His mother Ngaire Te Tai told RNZ reporter Charlotte Cook she learnt of her son's death from some of his contacts in Ukraine.
She says she always struggled to understand why he wanted to fight there.
