The heartbroken girlfriend of
a British volunteer medic who was killed in Ukraine has told how she
begged him in vain to stay away from the war-torn country.
Natasha Lovett, 40 said she
had been left ‘devastated’ by the death of her partner Craig Mackintosh, 48,
who was shot dead by Russian troops on Wednesday last week.
She revealed that he had been
determined to help the people of Ukraine, using the skills he learned as a
medic while in the Territorial Army more than 20 years ago.
Jobless gardener Mr Mackintosh
from Thetford, Norfolk, who had two daughters and two stepdaughters was killed
on his second tour of duty in Ukraine after ignoring the pleas of Natasha and
his family to remain at home.
He was an unpaid volunteer who
was still receiving his UK benefits while serving on the front line with a unit
of international soldiers in eastern Ukraine.
In an exclusive interview with
MailOnline, mother-of-two Natasha said: ‘I tried everything I could to stop him
going out there.
‘I knew it would be so
dangerous. I cried and I argued with him, but there was no shifting him.
‘He was trying to make me
understand so much why he had to go. He would say that it would all be worth it
if he could pass on his training to just one person, so they could help others.
‘That is all he wanted to do.
He just wanted to make a difference. He struggled over here sometimes – and
going to Ukraine was a purpose for him.
‘He was not working over here
when he went out. He has had a hard life with some really rough handouts over
the years and he bounced back every time.
‘Now that he has been killed,
I think I do understand, but accepting it is something different. I have lost
the man I loved.’
