Russian attack kills Spanish aid worker in Ukraine

OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed on Sunday that a Russian attack killed Spanish aid worker Emma Igual in Ukraine.

Igual, 32, was the co-founder and director of the non-profit organization Road to Relief, created to help evacuate citizens on the frontline and provide aid in Ukraine.

On Saturday, four of the organization’s team members left Slovyansk to assess the needs of the civilians caught in the crossfire in the town of Ivanivske, a small town six kilometers (3.7 miles) west of Bakhmut.

On their way, Russian forces attacked the vehicle, causing it to flip over and burst into flames, according to Road to Relief.

Two of the passengers, a German medical volunteer and a Swedish volunteer, survived. Although they were “badly injured” with shrapnel wounds and burns, they are recovering in a hospital.

Igual and Canadian volunteer Anthony “Tonko” Ihnat did not survive.

According to the organization’s website, its volunteers evacuated more than 1,200 people from the frontlines in Ukraine, 500 of whom were children. It has also been delivering around 30 tons of aid per month to villages in Donetsk. Meanwhile, its teams of medics stabilize and treat around 60 casualties per week.

Before co-founding Road to Relief in March 2022, Igual had worked in refugee camps and informal settlements in Greece, Myanmar, Kenya, and Morocco, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent her family condolences and said that the targeting of humanitarians is against the rules of war.

Spain's second deputy prime minister Yolanda Diaz called Igual “a young woman committed to human rights, a woman who represents the best of our country.”