The family of a British aid volunteer reportedly killed in a drone strike in Ukraine have said they are “very disappointed” by the response from authorities.
Annie Lewis Marffy, 69, travelled from her home in Silverton, near Exeter, Devon, 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 Kramatorsk in the contested Donbas region.
Ms Lewis Marffy arrived in Ukraine on June 4 and reportedly sustained “injuries incompatible with life” in a Russian drone strike on the morning of June 11, 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 relatives have asked for a death certificate to be issued, based on this information, either through local authorities or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
They say this will allow them to grieve properly for the “brave, capable and determined” mother-of-three and begin the probate process.
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.”
They said police had retained Ms Lewis Marffy’s computer for analysis, which contained information which would help them manage her affairs.
The relatives added: “The family are desperate to get more information. Her sons have been told that their mother is missing, presumed dead.”
Katarzyna Bylok, founder of Aid Ukraine, told the PA news agency 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 was allegedly killed as a “kill zone”.
“It leaves her family in a horrible red tape limbo,” she added.
“They will never get her body. But what they need is the ability to close her affairs. Her sons have their hands tied, they don’t have power of attorney.”
Ms Bylok said there is an expedited process in Ukraine to certify deaths where remains cannot be recovered, though this still takes six to 12 months.
“There is enough evidence to prove that Annie is dead,” she added.
“The procedures stating that you need to have remains or DNA for a death certificate need to be updated.”
Ms Lewis Marffy travelled through Europe in convoy with a former soldier from Wales, who had to return to the UK after becoming unwell in Poland.
It was then suggested she should hand the vehicle to Aid Ukraine teams in Lviv, but she insisted she would continue with her mission to deliver the vehicle to the Ukrainian military in Kramatorsk.
She was then in sporadic contact with the organisation and last contacted them on the evening of June 10, saying she was 55 minutes from her destination, the non-governmental organisation said.
After failing to hear from Ms Lewis Marffy, Ms Bylok posted a picture of her on Telegram and asked for information about her whereabouts.
Police then contacted Ms Bylok to say she had been killed, she said.
Ms Bylok described Ms Lewis Marffy as “very self-assured and highly intelligent”.
In an interview with the BBC, her son Charlie Lewis Marffy said the family were not looking to blame anyone for what happened.
He described her as “amazing, witty, kind, intelligent, adventurous”.
“She was irreplaceable,” he told the BBC.
“I feel very sad that she’s not here any more but I’m very proud of who she was.”
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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