Spain investigating the death of a Mallorcan in Ukraine

He had initially gone to help with telecommunications

Ángel Adrover Martínez, a Mallorcan who has died in Ukraine

Ángel Adrover Martínez in Ukraine.

Andrew EdePalma21/06/2022 07:21

On Saturday, Spain's foreign affairs ministry was informed of the death in Ukraine of Ángel Adrover Martínez, a 31-year-old from Portocolom. The ministry is investigating the circumstances and is in close contact with the Spanish Embassy in Kyiv and with the Ukrainian government. It is not known how long it will be before his body can be repatriated.

The Spanish government had not known that Ángel was in Ukraine. According to relatives, he lacked military training and was trained to fight once in Ukraine. He had originally gone to the country in March to carry out humanitarian work and to assist with telecommunications; he was a graduate in telecommunications engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

He enlisted with the Ukraine military at some point after arriving in the country. His mother, Dolores Martínez, says that "he didn't tell me why he was going to Ukraine, because he knew I would be angry".

Ángel Adrover Martínez from Mallorca, who received military training in Ukraine

A Ukrainian Army colonel has been in contact with Dolores via Whatsapp. He explains that Ángel worked for a short time with his telecommunications team in Lviv, but later decided that he had to help out on the front line. "He was a very honest person, extremely intelligent and with very clear principles. He was a brave person. I admire his courage."

After graduating, he remained in Barcelona for some eighteen months before returning to Mallorca to work as a computer scientist at Son Espases Hospital. Around two years ago, he moved to the Netherlands, his last place of residence before going to Ukraine.