Australian mercenary Abdelfetah ‘Adam’ Nourine accused of killing British soldier Daniel Burke in Ukraine

A text ‘confession’ and a bullet-riddled body at a Ukraine shooting range. Melbourne man Abdelfetah ‘Adam’ Nourine, 26, has gone into hiding, but the victim’s family say something doesn’t add up.

Australian mercenary Abdelfetah ‘Adam’ Nourine is accused of killing his former British paratrooper friend while fighting Russians in Ukraine.

An Australian man fighting in Ukraine has been accused of killing his former British paratrooper friend who was also fighting on the frontlines against the Russian invasion.

Melbourne man Abdelfetah Nourine, 26, who goes by the name of Adam, is accused of killing Daniel Burke, 36, whose body was identified by Ukrainian police on October 26.

Daniel’s father Kevin Burke is calling on Mr Nourine to “let justice take its course” by returning to Ukraine after allegedly confessing to accidentally killing Daniel in southeastern Ukraine.

Mr Nourine was allegedly with Daniel on the day he vanished in mid-August and has left Ukraine and is now in hiding following multiple threats on his life – threats that Daniel’s father has doubts about.

Former British paratrooper Daniel Burke in Ukraine. Picture: Facebook

It has been reported that the Algerian-born Australian fighter took Ukrainian police to the ­location of Daniel’s body, which was found with multiple gunshot wounds in his upper torso and head, near a firing range in the south of Zaporizhzhia.

Mr Nourine has been interviewed by police several times, but has not been charged and has since left Ukraine on what his mother says is the advice of the Australian embassy in Poland.

Former British paratrooper Daniel Burke in Ukraine at a shooting range. Picture: Facebook

Daniel’s body was identified only at the end of last month after a long DNA testing process.

He arrived in Ukraine at the beginning of the war, first transporting humanitarian aid from Poland and then decided to fight for Ukraine, leading a group called the Dark Angels.

Since Daniel’s disappearance, his father has tirelessly sought justice for his son.

Abdelfetah Nourine's Australian passport.

The retired truck driver told The Australian that Ukrainian police believed his son was killed at the firing range where Daniel and Mr Nourine had gone to practise.

In text messages obtained by The Australian, Mr Nourine ­allegedly confessed to Daniel’s killing to mutual friend and fellow fighter James Sutton.

“I killed someone and didn’t know what to do,” he allegedly wrote on an encrypted messaging application.

While Mr Nourine has been extensively interviewed by Ukrainian police, he has never been arrested. Kevin Burke is pleading for him to return to Ukraine to allow the investigation to continue.

“If you look at the messages that he sent to James Sutton and if you look at what he also said to the police that they’ve confirmed to me, his claim is it was an accident,” Mr Burke said.

“So if it was an accident, come forward and say it was an accident and be charged with it being an accident.”

Adam's alleged confession to friend James Sutton.

When Daniel first went missing, Mr Burke initially thought his son had been captured.

He said CCTV revealed Daniel and Mr Nourine travelled ­together to the firing range, but on the vehicle’s return a few hours later, footage shows only Mr Nourine.

“The police questioned him, they brought him in and they ­released him each time they did it,” Mr Burke said.

He has raised concerns about the depth of the police investigation. “We could never understand why he wasn’t held,” Mr Burke said. “My personal feeling is that they have let him leave Ukraine.”

Mr Burke travelled to Ukraine in September in search of answers following Daniel’s disappearance.

Speaking through tears, he told The Australian that visiting the location of his son’s death was “absolutely devastating”.

Daniel and Kevin Burke in August 2007.

“I didn‘t want to go to Ukraine, I had to go to Ukraine because the investigation was not proceeding with the current team at the time,” Mr Burke said.

“I went there because it ­appeared the inquiry into Daniel’s death had stagnated and I didn’t feel it was going in the right direction.

“I had to look and see and make sure that it did, and ultimately it did because the investigation team was changed.”

The Australian spoke with Mr Nourine’s mother, who lives in Melbourne and has requested anonymity due to fears she has for her life and of the children living at her address.

“They keep sending him messages, to kill him, and even following him, taking pictures of him, that’s why he ran (away from Ukraine),” she said.

“They want him like he is a terrorist. He went there to help Ukrainians and then they’re telling him he’s a terrorist. They blame him because he is the only Muslim there.

“He helped them, all of them. They said like when we are in danger, he came and he helped them and drag them to safety.

“He’s not the type of person like to hurt someone.”

One source said Mr Nourine might be trying to find a way to ­return to Australia safely and deal with the consequences in Australia as opposed to Ukraine.

For now, Kevin Burke is still searching for answers, but has ­extended an open hand to Mr Nourine.

“Prior to his (alleged) confession, he did say that he wanted to speak to me, and then after he said the same thing, to which I said I wanted that to occur,” Mr Burke said.

“My original offer of communication still stands.”