Veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and humanitarian Pete Reed was slain on Thursday while assisting locals in Bakhmut, Ukraine, according to his family and the two medical relief organisations he worked with. In 2017, Reed, a Marine rifleman who served on two deployments to Afghanistan, created the charity organisation Global Response Medicine.
In a statement, the organization said, “Pete was the bedrock of GRM, serving as Board President for 4 years. In January, Pete stepped away from GRM to work with Global Outreach Doctors on their Ukraine mission and was killed while rendering aid.”
Pete Reed, the creator of GRM, died yesterday in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Pete served as the foundation of GRM for four years as board president. Pete left GRM in January to serve with Global Outreach Doctors on their mission to Ukraine, where he was killed while providing help.
Reed is employed by Global Outreach Doctors USA as the country director for Ukraine, according to Andrew Lustig, the organization’s founder and president.
“Pete was actively aiding in the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians when his evacuation vehicle was hit with a reported missile in Bakhmut, Ukraine on Feb 2, 2023,” Lustig said in a statement. “…Pete’s death underscores the devastation war has on innocent civilians, and highlights the importance of humanitarian and medical aid for affected communities. GoDocs is committed to carrying out this work around the world in honor of Pete.”
The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has recently been the scene of fierce conflict.
“He was evacuating citizens and responding to those wounded when his ambulance was shelled,” his wife Alex Kay Potter said in a Facebook post.
Reed, 33, started his paramedic career after Hurricane Sandy hit his home state of New Jersey, the organization said on its website. It said he also went to Northern Iraq, where he led medical teams with the Kurdish Peshmerga, and then with the Iraqi Special Forces for the duration of the battle for Mosul.
“This is a stark reminder of the perils rescue and aid workers face in conflict zones as they serve citizens caught in the crossfire,” GRM Deputy Director Andrea Leiner said in a statement.
Since the beginning of Russia’s operation against Ukraine about a year ago, Reed is the most recent American to die there.
Officials verified to CBS News that Daniel W. Swift, a Navy SEAL who was reported gone without leave, was murdered in Ukraine just last month. Since the start of the invasion, at least eight other Americans have perished in Ukraine.
The U.S. State Department has long advised Americans against travelling to Ukraine to fight. Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, stated in March that American citizens who travel to Ukraine, particularly with the intention of taking part in combat there, “face enormous dangers, including the very real risk of detention or death.”
