Soldier recalls loss of Taiwan veteran under bombardment in Ukraine

Taipei, Nov. 4 (CNA) Wu Chung-ta (吳忠達), a  former Army Speicial Forces soldier from Taiwan who fought as a volunteer soldier in Ukraine, died after he was wounded during a bombardment by Russian forces, another Taiwanese who was just meters away from Wu during the shelling recalled Monday.

The 44-year-old soldier  was hit during heavy shelling launched by Russian troops, and all efforts to stop the bleeding from his wounds failed, said Taiwanese volunteer soldier Pan Wen-ta (潘文達) from Ukraine during a video call with a church in Taipei.

Pan, who has been brought to a safer area in Ukraine from the frontline, was on the video call with Rev. Huang Chun-sheng (黃春生), with reporters invited to listen in but not ask questions.

Wu was fighting against Russian troops in the forest as his squad, which Pan was also in, was defending a Ukraine-controlled location.

As the squad leader was also wounded during the fighting, which quickly escalated, Pan said, the soldiers on the Ukrainian side had to pull back and leave Wu behind.

The other soldiers were still processing Wu's death, Pan said, because he was always the one cheering up those around him.

Pan said he and several Taiwanese volunteer soldiers would not leave Ukraine before compensation for Wu's death and other arrangements were finalized.

The Taiwanese soldiers also cannot just leave Wu in Ukraine without retrieving his body, Pan said.