He proved his love in deeds, not works

Despite being nearly 50, Sergiy Tetyukhin quit as deputy mayor of Odesa to fight at the front. He was killed last week in a missile strike. Here, Lord Ashcroft pays tribute to a dear friend who embodied embattled Ukraine's defiant spirit

- Lord Ashcroft

HE WAS quiet, thoughtful and charming with a gentle smile and, every time we met, we would exchange affectionate hugs. Above all else, he was a man of huge Lintegrity who was fiercely patriotic. Even in his challenging wartime role as deputy mayor of Odesa, he felt he was not doing enough for his country.

So, despite being just months away from his 50th birthday, Sergiy Tetyukhin resigned his civilian role shortly before Christmas in order to enlist in the Ukrainian Army.

There was only one unit he wanted to serve in the Odesa-based Tsunami Assault Regiment commanded by his close friend, Lt-Col Olexandr "Alex" Gostyschev.

Sergiy had to embark on military training which he completed only weeks ago. After joining up with his new Tsunami comrades, he messaged me, full of enthusiasm for his new role: "So we are getting ready for new assignments in three to five weeks. We have been expanded. A lot of missions in Ukraine with Alex. Gotta be 100 per cent ready." Sadly, the new recruit and his commander will never go on those missions.

Both men were killed by a Russian missile strike on their home city in the early afternoon of last Friday. At least 19 other people were killed and some 70 more injured.

Typically, Sergiy, Alex and Dmytro Abramenko, Alex's deputy, were all killed after they had gone to help the injured and dying who had been hit by the first missile which landed close by just minutes earlier.

Collaborators

This horrendous "double-tap" tactic involves firing one missile, waiting several minutes and then aiming a second at the same spot to kill and injure the rescue team.

Intelligence sources in Ukraine suspect the Russians deliberately targeted the temporary military base and suspect collaborators of giving them its location.