Kacper Bass, who had volunteered to fight for Ukraine in October 2022, died in hospital on New Year’s Eve after being wounded on the frontlines, Polish private media outlet Onet reported.
Bass, call sign ‘Frantsuz’ (‘Frenchman’ in Ukrainian), was one of the most experienced Polish volunteers fighting for Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
He sustained his fatal injuries while sheltering in a bunker on the frontlines in the Kharkiv region that was hit by an artillery or drone strike, or perhaps a grenade thrown inside, fellow soldiers from the Rug Hamlet unit said.
“Inside there was also ammunition, grenades, gas cylinders,” which worsened the severity of his injuries, Bass’ colleagues told Onet, which first reported the story.
Who was ‘Frantsuz’?
According to Onet, Kacper Bass had been fighting in the war for over three years, seeing combat in many key sectors of the frontline, including participating in incursions into Russian territory.
The military was an integral part of Bass’ entire adult life. After unsuccessfully attempting to join the Polish army, he signed up for the French Foreign Legion at the age of 19, which later inspired his call sign. After his contract with the Legion expired, he returned to Poland. He joined Ukraine’s International Legion in October 2022.
He first saw combat in Ukraine in autumn of that year, fighting near Svatove and Kupiansk, and later in the Donbas.
He was also engaged in combat during one of Ukrainian forces’ incursions into Russia’s border Belgorod region.
He sustained numerous combat injuries and was awarded the Medal for Military Valor and the Armed Forces Cross of Valor.
Comrades described him as fearless and impulsive in combat, while also praising his effectiveness as a soldier, capable of seizing the initiative in the most difficult moments.
“For what ‘Frantsuz’ did, he should get the ‘Hero of Ukraine’ medal,” one Polish volunteer, call sign ‘Hagrid,’ told Onet.
Farewell to a brother in arms
On the day they received news of ‘Frantsuz’s’ passing, Ukrainian soldiers honored his memory by inscribing artillery shells with his call sign, the date and time of his death and subsequently fired them into Russian positions.
“To honor your friend, we’re throwing a real rave for them today,” the artillerymen wrote to one of the Polish volunteers.
In March 2023, he volunteered for deployment to Bakhmut during the final stages of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war. There, he was responsible for coordinating drone reconnaissance with mortar shelling of enemy positions.
Written by Michał Woźniak and first published by TVP World.