Topline
U.S. citizen Willy Joseph Cancel, a 22-year-old former Marine, was killed while fighting against Russian forces, his family told multiple media outlets, becoming the first known U.S. citizen known to have died while fighting in Ukraine, as officials confirmed that a British citizen and a Danish citizen were also killed in the country this week.
Key Facts
Cancel was working with a private military contracting company when he was killed on Monday, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN.
Cabrera said Cancel wanted to go to Ukraine because he “believed in what Ukraine was fighting for,” and wished to help contain the conflict in hopes that other U.S. troops would not have to become involved in the defense.
The U.K.’s Foreign Office told multiple news outlets that a British national had died in Ukraine, and that a second citizen was missing on Thursday.
The citizen who died, identified by multiple news outlets as Scott Sibley, was also fighting in Ukraine—likely in Mariupol or elsewhere in the Donbas region, anonymous diplomatic sources told the BBC.
A Danish citizen was also killed in Ukraine, the Ukrainian embassy in Copenhagen confirmed to Danish media outlets on Friday.
The 25-year-old man was fighting in a unit for foreigners who want to fight against Russia in Mykolaiv, the Associated Press reports citing Danish broadcaster TV2.
What We Don’t Know
The U.S. has not confirmed the reports from Cancel’s family members. The State Department said in a statement to Forbes it was aware of the reports and is “closely monitoring the situation,” but had no further comment due to privacy concerns.
Big Number
20,000. That’s how many foreigners—from 52 countries—have traveled to Ukraine to fight Russian forces, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky created the “International Legion” in late February to recruit fighters, though countries like the U.S. have warned citizens against going to Ukraine to join the fight.
Tangent
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said one of their journalists, Vira Hyrych, died after Russian shelling struck a residential building in Kyiv. Hyrych’s body was found in the rubble of the building Friday, which was hit by a Russian missile the night before. Several journalists have lost their lives while reporting on the invasion, including Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and his fixer, Ukrainian journalist Olexandra Kuvshynova, and documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud.
Further Reading
Willy Joseph Cancel: American killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in Ukraine (CNN)
