A BRIT medic has been found dead in Ukraine and may have been murdered with fatal overdose, it has been claimed.
Katherine Mielniczuk, 26, died from opioid intoxication and Ukrainian cops are probing her death.
FacebookBritish medic Katherine Mielniczuk was found dead in eastern Ukraine[/caption]
Katherine spent 18 months on the frontline in the war against Russia
Questions have now been raised if her death involved ‘foul play’
Katherine Mielniczuk went to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, compelled to use her medical skills to help those in need.
The young woman, who was affectionately known as “Kat” by her peers, is understood to have served in Ukraine as an instructor and combat medic with a group which called itself Menace Medics.
She died in the early hours of Christmas Eve in eastern Ukraine back in 2023 with her colleagues making the tragic find.
Police initially said they did not believe the 26-year-old’s death was suspicious.
But questions have now been raised if Katherine’s death involved “foul play” before she was found dead in her bed.
And a coroner has demanded to know if someone “administered something without her consent” before her colleagues discovered her lifeless body.
Cops have now reportedly launched an “ongoing” murder investigation into Kat’s death, according to the Mirror.
Assistant coroner Ivor Collett told the court in Croydon: “We know that the police authorities in Sloviansk did initiate an investigation into Katherine’s death under article 115 of their criminal code dealing with homicide.
“The latest from them is that the investigation is ongoing.”
Speaking to the Mielniczuk family’s solicitors, he added: “Has there been foul play? Has someone administered something without Katherine’s consent?
“Has someone put them into her system without her being willing?
“What we are really concerned with is what happened while she was a combat medic in Ukraine.”
The 26-year-old, who graduated in chemistry at the University of Bristol, spent almost two years risking her life to provide medical supplies and emergency care to injured Ukrainian and foreign fighters.
Kat travelled to the most volatile stretches of the frontline and earning herself the nickname “Apache”.
Her family, from Westerham in Kent, said in a previous statement: “She devoted her life to helping others, as a medic, as a scientist and researcher, and as a friend.
“She volunteered her last 18 months in Ukraine, working in logistical aid and as a combat medic all over the country.
“It is impossible to truly convey what an incredible woman Katherine was or how deeply and widely she was loved and will be missed.
“Kasia is gone, but the endless warmth, love and grace she brought to the world will never be lost.”
A donation fund was set up to assist Katherine’s family by helping them cover the costs of flying to Ukraine and having Katherine’s body returned to the UK.
One person, who called Katherine a “dear friend”, posted in the fund: “I will forever miss our hours-long phone calls, where I could talk to you about anything and everything, and walking dogs from the animal shelter together.”
Another wrote: “At university you were always someone who I could turn to and looked out for me. I’m really going to miss you. I’ll see you when I’m older xx.”
FacebookKat travelled to the most volatile stretches of the frontline[/caption]
FacebookHer family said she ‘devoted her life to helping others’[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
