First British service death in Ukraine named by coroner

He died following multiple injuries from an explosion

The 28-year-old British man, George Hooley, died on 9 December last year after he had “sustained multiple injuries from an explosion”, an inquest found.

Hooley died in a hospital in Kyiv, three days after suffering his injuries.

He is the first service member from the UK to die in Ukraine, since February 2022 when the Russian invasion started.

Senior coroner for Oxfordshire, Darren Salter, said that he had been provided with “limited evidence” about the circumstances and cause of the explosion but Hooley's death was “not suspicious”.

How the explosion that caused his injuries happened

The explosion was away from the front line, but its location is not known.

Speaking to military police investigators, L/Cpl Hooley's commanding officer said he “heard a sudden loud bang and saw a flash” shortly after they arrived to meet Ukrainian troops.

He also added that he “had his back to the explosion and did not see what had caused it but could tell the bang had come from where L/Cpl Hooley was”.

As per the coroner's report, Hooley had been transferred from at least one other hospital in Ukraine before his death in the capital.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement in December that Hooley was “an exceptional soldier and an impressive junior leader with extensive operational experience”.

His death was a “tragic accident” that happened while he was “observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability”, it added.

However, the MoD did not comment when asked further questions about the circumstances of the incident.

L/Cpl George Hooley. Credit: Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Who was George Hooley, the ‘born soldier’ with a ‘rare gift’

His company commander in the Parachute Regiment said that Hooley was “a born soldier” who “had a rare gift: a deep kindness and genuine time for everyone”.

The 28-year-old from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, joined the regiment in June 2016.

He had earlier completed his training at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick in North Yorkshire.

As the coroner rejected a media request for a public hearing, the inquest was conducted partly in secret.

The number of service people in Ukraine has never been disclosed by the UK government, but previously it acknowledged a small number is there to support Ukrainian armed forces.