TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese volunteer soldier on the frontlines in Ukraine, Wu Chung-ta (吳忠達), died during an intense battle in the contested Luhansk region on Friday (Nov. 1), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

MOFA deputy spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) told CNA the 44-year-old Kaohsiung male who previously served in Taiwan's Army Special Forces Command before retiring, died on the battlefield as a result of Russian bombardment. Hsiao said MOFA has contacted the soldier's family and pledged assistance in bringing him home.

Hsiao said the soldier's family wished to remain private and did not want to talk to the media. News of Wu's death according to DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) was first shared with Taipei-based Pastor Huang Chun-sheng (黃春生) by a group of Taiwanese volunteer soldiers fighting for Ukraine. 

According to the pastor’s Facebook post, Wu had been serving with the Second Battalion of the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine. Wu's body is still reportedly on the battlefield, with his exact location confirmed by a drone. Due to heavy fire at the front line, the Ukrainian army will wait for the situation to ease before evacuating his remains.

Wu traveled to Ukraine in 2023. After a brief training period, he was transferred to the frontlines, where he battled Russian troops.

Wu has become the second Taiwanese soldier to die while fighting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022. Tseng Sheng-kuang (曾聖光), a 25-year-old Taiwanese volunteer soldier, was the first to be killed in action in November 2022.

Wu’s death comes as North Korea sent 8,000 soldiers to the border with Ukraine, dramatically expanding the front lines. Wu died on a day when Ukraine suffered other casualties, losing 21 soldiers in combat, per TVBS.

According to local media sources, approximately six Taiwanese nationals are serving as voluntary soldiers in Ukraine.