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A letter written by Kane Te Tai, the latest New Zealand soldier to be killed in the Ukraine conflict, revealed he couldn’t stand by and watch as the country was engulfed in war.
Te Tai starts his open letter, obtained by RNZ,with an admission he never liked the media - but still wanted to explain his motivations to fight.
He said he’d fallen in love with the people of Ukraine, the country itself and has “learnt to live and to love here”.
“I came out here not fully knowing what I was getting myself into, but now I am here and five months on, my resolve has only grown stronger,” the soldier said.
“This place has a strength that appears from the outside as a picture of propaganda or something that is manufactured. It isn’t. The inner strength born from a people invaded is so strong that I, and people like me - including my brother and now deceased teammate Dominic Abelen - are compelled to join this fight.”
Kane Te Tai is the latest New Zealand soldier to be killed in the Ukraine conflict. He revealed he couldn’t stand by and watch as the country was engulfed in war. Photo / Supplied
Te Tai said many will say the fight isn’t their fight, and agrees it isn’t.
“It’s not our responsibility to help a mother carry in her groceries when she’s trying to get her kid inside. It’s not our responsibility to get involved when four teenagers gang up on a kid at a train station.
“It’s not our fight - if we don’t want it to be,” he said.
“We can choose to help or not, neither is wrong. But if location or who they are and what their political leaning is and if that is what is bothering you, or the ramifications of what it could bring to our country is your defence, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Life makes you choose.”
Te Tai said sometimes you have to expose yourself and put skin in the game - “sometimes, all of it” - but not to let excuses be what stops us from helping others.
He wrote what makes a good soldier is saving energy to save himself, but what makes a great soldier is digging deep for energy to save the person next to him.
“Help one another, if you go out like that then it isn’t a waste.”
Te Tai said he loved his life and the people in it. He mentioned his friends, family and the “woman who has my heart and my attention and my kid, who along with everyone else is going to wonder why”.
In answering that “why”, Te Tai wrote he couldn’t stand the idea of ignoring the conflict when others were forced to endure it.
“I couldn’t leave while others who didn’t choose this can’t either. I couldn’t take the small amount of experience and keenness I have to offer out of a place that needs it.”
Te Tai also wrote “selfishly, I love this stuff”, admitting he hasn’t felt as satisfied and alive for a long time.
“It has been great to be around people with the same mindset and goals. To be able to drink from the Oasis in the vast desert again.”
Concluding his letter, Te Tai clarified he was not writing a love letter to “romanticise” the idea of joining the conflict, but instead to let others know what they’re getting themselves into.
“If you decide to come then know for sure that this could be it. Your choice has consequences for others too, I have been selfish and made that choice for them.”
He addressed his country New Zealand, asking it to be happy and in love, to find a reason to be in love with life.
“I’ll miss your mountains, your rivers and the sea, so much.”
To Ukraine, Te Tai expressed his belief the nation will win. He said the nation will see “the sunflower field plentiful under a free yellow and blue flag in the wind soon”.
“Zhovti Vodi, you’ll be in my soul forever.”
Finally, he addressed his team - reassuring them he knew they did their best and to keep going with life.
Kane Te Ta said he will miss New Zealand's mountains, rivers and the sea. Photo / Supplied
“Get a W for us and conduct yourselves with courage, honour and compassion as we have done since being here,” Te Tai wrote.
“My Mexican and Military family, see you guys at the RV in the sky with the rest of our friends. Kura Takahi Puni, Onward.
“Слава Україні! (Glory to Ukraine)”
Kane Te Tai was killed in action while clearing a trench last week in the Vuhledar region. His parents said members of his unit in Ukraine are currently with him so he is not alone.
The body of the slain soldier will be escorted back home by his uncle, costing the whānau more than $65,000.
Te Tai has been described as an “extraordinary soldier” and “incredible man” by Kiwi K.A.R.E’s Tenby Powell who met him in Ukraine.
Powell spoke with the Herald on Monday confirmed he’s playing the role of liaison between the family and MFAT to ensure a smooth process.
“[It’s] not without its complications,” said Powell.
“It’s a lot of moving parts, there will be an examination of the body and a post mortem, the Ukranians are very thorough but the process is not without its complications.”
The date for Te Tai’s funeral has not been set while details are being confirmed around when his body will arrive back in New Zealand.
