The family of a British aid volunteer reportedly killed in a drone strike in Ukraine has said they are “very disappointed” by the response from authorities.
Annie Lewis Marffy, 69, travelled from her home in Silverton, near Exeter, in late May to deliver a green Toyota Rav4 packed with supplies.
Her mission, arranged by non-profit organisation Aid Ukraine UK, was to take the vehicle in convoy with a British volunteer to the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region – an area of intense fighting.
Ms Lewis Marffy had travelled through Europe with a former soldier from Wales, who had to return to the UK after becoming unwell in Poland.
The volunteer arrived in Ukraine on 4 June. The non-profit said she last contacted them on the evening of 10 June, saying she was 55 minutes from her destination.
Ms Lewis Marffy reportedly sustained “injuries incompatible with life” in a Russian drone strike on the morning of 11 June, according to a police file.
The Kramatorsk district police department said her body “remains in an area of active hostilities, making it impossible to conduct evacuation measures to transfer the body to the forensic medical examination department”.
Her family has requested that a death certificate be issued based on this information, either by local authorities or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
They believe that having the certificate will help them properly mourn the “brave, capable, and determined” mother of three and start the probate proceedings.
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The family said: “All the family, the sisters and the sons, have been very disappointed at the reaction of the FCDO and the lack of response from the police.
“After all this time, we haven’t got any report at all from the Ukrainian police. That has to come from Ukraine and would be sent to Devon and Cornwall Police.”
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They said police had kept Ms Lewis Marffy’s computer for examination, as it held information important for handling her affairs.
A spokesperson for the FCDO said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who is missing in Ukraine and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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Katarzyna Bylok, founder of Aid Ukraine, said that issuing a death certificate could take months or years, as Ms Lewis Marffy’s remains cannot be safely recovered.
She described the area where the volunteer allegedly died as a “kill zone”.
“It leaves her family in a horrible red tape limbo,” she added.
