Estonian member of Ukraine's International Legion killed in Russian drone attack

Tanel Kriggul was killed near the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region. Photo: Erakogu

An Estonian national fighting in the war in Ukraine was killed in a Russian drone attack in Eastern Ukraine in the early hours of Saturday.

Tanel Kriggul, whose nom de guerre is Stinger and who has been fighting as a member of the International Legion of Ukraine since last year, was killed near the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region.

The small private house where Kriggul was staying with a fellow soldier was hit by a Russian army drone on the night between Friday and Saturday. The blast was so strong that only a pile of rubble remained of the house.

Kriggul's death was confirmed to Postimees by three sources fighting in the so-called foreign legion in Ukraine.

An information officer for the International Legion declined comment to Postimees on Saturday.

"We don't comment on things like that. We do not share information about casualties," the spokesperson said.

Postimees managed to talk with one of the soldiers of the Ukrainian army who had been staying in the same settlement where Kriggul was killed.

The soldier said he was woken up at around three o'clock on Saturday night by the loud sound of an explosion. He and the other soldiers in the same house could not understand what had caused the explosion, but they put on protective gear just in case.

Suddenly they heard a noise similar to the sound made by a working chainsaw. They realized it was a drone and immediately took cover.

Then there was a loud explosion, after which the soldier who spoke to Postimees and fellow soldiers took cover in the basement of the house.

They exited the basement some time later and proceeded to the place where the blast had taken place. The drone had hit the house where the soldiers lived. There was a pile of rubble left of the building.

Near the house they found a wounded soldier, whom they helped to get to the medics for first aid. They then discovered bodies amid the rubble, whose injuries showed that they had been immediately killed in the explosion.

All that remained of the house after the drone attack was a pile of rubble. Photo: Erakogu