Australian killed in Ukraine identified as Shane Bagley - a former ADF corporal and mate of shadow minister

A popular social media account covering the Ukraine war in English named an Australian killed fighting Russia on the weekend as a former corporal in the Australian Army, Shane Bagley.

The post by Visegrad 24, which has 2 million followers, quoted a friend describing him as “the bravest soldier I have ever known and my brother”.

A medic, Mr Bagley died last Thursday after being lightly wounded and offering to return to a battle to help another injured soldier, according to an account from another foreign fighter.

Reports of his death have circulated on the internet since the weekend, mostly referring to the nickname, Mozzie, he used in Ukraine. Two months ago he appeared in a promotional video for the Foreign Legionnaires, a unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that recruits foreign solders with his face covered by a bandanna.

He declined an interview request at the time from The Nightly, stating that he did not want to share information about his military background in Australia.

In a letter to a friend posted online after his death, Mr Bagley said the Ukraine war had changed his perception of life and his values.

“Hard to imagine a normal job or a regular life giving the same sense of purpose, the same intensity, the same feeling of being truly alive,” he wrote. “Maybe that’s something I’ll figure out in time.

“But I know this experience meant something. It taught me more than I expected about resilience, about loyalty, about what really matters. To my boys back in Australia don’t waste your time chasing comfort. Push yourself. Step into the unknown. You don’t have to go looking for a fight, but go find something that challenges you, something that forces you to grow. And if you’re in the army I look forward to giving what I can, I may never have the chance to serve with you but I have some tips.

“Life’s bigger than playing it safe.”

Heavy weapons

On Tuesday, the Defence Force referred questions to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A person who identified herself as his mother wrote on Facebook: “Rest in peace sweetheart and now, we just need to get you home.”

The shadow minister for defence personnel, Phillip Thompson, who was a member of the same unit as Mr Bagley, the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, posted a photograph of them together online.

He was sent to Butterworth Air Force base in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, according to Mr Thompson, and trained in heavy weapons. in Ukraine he joined a unit know as Med Team Alpha as a combat medic, a role that required him to fight Russians, sometimes room-to-room, and provide emergency medical care to soldiers in his team who were wounded.

“He was the kind of bloke who never hesitated to put others before himself,” Mr Thompson said. “He was a good man, a great soldier, and someone his mates could always rely on when it mattered most.”

Mr Bagley is the 15th Australian to die fighting for Ukraine, according to public records, and one of several army veterans who decided to join the war despite stern warnings from the Australian government they should not.

Mr Bagley’s Instagram account has several videos of him in situations where he could have died, including footage of may have been a rocket-propelled grenade detonating metres away, and drones flying overhead as he shelters in the doorway of a ruined building.

Another fighter described him as crucial member of their team because of his perseverance and military skills.

“Mozzie took down four enemies after they opened fire first and killed his team leader and his best friend,” a soldier referring to himself as Malvinas wrote. “That led to an uneven battle in which two faced six, and he still won. He then kept his team leader alive for as long as possible until a vehicle arrived to evacuate him.”

Another account said that Mr Bagley gave a blood transfusion to an injured soldier from his own body to save the man’s life.