A former Gqeberha police officer has taken up arms on the Ukrainian frontlines, determined to help protect the nation as it battles Russia.
Peter Fouche, a former member of the Friendly City’s Flying Squad, said his motivation for the bold move was driven by an unbreakable love for his 15-year-old daughter, Niköla.
Fouche, 48, said he wanted to prevent more Ukrainian parents from enduring the heartache of losing a child in the war that started in February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the eastern European nation.
The father of one, who moved to London after a brief stint in law enforcement in Gqeberha, recently spoke to The Herald from his bunker in Ukraine, saying he took great pride in safeguarding the lives of others.
“My daughter was my inspiration; witnessing the tragic loss of Ukrainian children on TV fuelled my resolve.”
Fouche said his decision to join the fight was a spontaneous one, triggered while his mother, who still lives in Gqeberha, was visiting him in London.
“I was watching a TV report about the war and suddenly said to my mom, who was upstairs taking a nap, ‘Hey, I’m going to Ukraine.’
“She had been by my side for six months and has always been one of my biggest supporters,” he said.
On his arrival in Ukraine, an American journalist encountered Fouche and his fellow volunteers who had travelled from England.
“The journalist warned us about the dire situation, comparing it to a hundred times worse than the war in Leningrad,” he said.
“Fear gripped me, prompting the quick donning of body armour and helmets, uncertain of what lay ahead.”
Fouche said after they arrived in the war-torn country the volunteers travelled almost 1,000km before spotting smoke on the horizon over Kyiv.
“As we reached Kyiv, the sound of bombs and rockets filled the air.
“What awaited us, especially in the east, exceeded all expectations.
“The warm welcome and love from the Ukrainian people, their astonishment at a foreigner like me coming to aid their cause, was a heartwarming and extraordinary experience.”
In the tapestry of his journey in Ukraine, Fouche said he wore an array of hats, each one representing a different role he embraced upon his arrival in the country.
“I was initially assigned the responsibility of constructing a field hospital,” he said.
“Subsequently, I assumed the role of a close-quarters battle instructor and participated in sniper training.
“In summary, I volunteered for and conducted tactical and sniper training.
“Following that, I received medical training and became the team’s medic.”
Fouche said he had also crafted a hidden refuge, a personal bunker where he sought shelter.
“Survival is a relentless challenge in these harsh circumstances.
“Each day is a precarious dance with uncertainty, never certain if the dawn will find me still breathing.”
When times got tough, he found solace in the presence of God.
Fouche said soon after he arrived in Ukraine he started Project Konstantin, a charitable organisation dedicated to providing life-saving medical evacuations for soldiers in Ukraine.
It also delivers vital humanitarian aid to communities affected by Russia’s invasion.
Project Konstantin’s organiser, Jana Fourie, said: ‘We’re here so the brave men and women on the front know there’s a capable medical team just a few hundred metres away that’s embedded with them.”
Fourie said they had evacuated 203 wounded soldiers from the frontlines so far.
According to Reuters, almost 70,000 Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict, while between 100,000 and 120,000 have been wounded.
“Through our donors and connections, we’ve supplied three vehicles to Ukrainian military medical units, with two more in the process of being transferred,” Fourie said.
HeraldLIVE
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