According to his relatives, a former British soldier was slain while fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces. Jordan Gatley, who quit the British army in March and travelled to Ukraine, was lauded as “a hero” in a homage on social media by his father Dean.
He was killed in the struggle for Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Russia that has seen heavy fighting in recent days.
According to the Foreign Office, it is “helping the family of a British man who died in Ukraine.”
In a Facebook post, Mr Gatley’s father stated that his son had been assisting in the training of local law enforcement. Jordan was fatally shot on the front lines while protecting the city, according to him, and they learned of his death on Friday.
“After considerable thinking,” he stated, he went to Ukraine to help.
The family “received multiple messages from his team out there telling us of his breadth of knowledge, his talents as a soldier, and his love of his work,” according to the Facebook post.
“His squad says they all adored him, and we agree,” the statement said, “and he made a huge difference in many people’s lives, not only as a soldier, but also as a trainer of Ukrainian forces.”
“Jordan and his team were extremely proud of the work they were doing, and he frequently informed me that the missions they were undertaking were dangerous but vital.
“He genuinely was a hero and will forever be in our hearts,” Mr Gatley wrote, adding, “He loved his profession and we are so proud of him.”
Jordan Gatley was a “genuine hero,” according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an assistant to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr. Podolyak wrote, “We shall always remember his contribution to the security of Ukraine and the free world.”
Mr Gatley served in the British army as a rifleman with the Edinburgh-based third battalion of The Rifles before being released in March and travelling to Ukraine, according to the BBC.
Heavy artillery is believed to be causing massive fatalities for both Russian and Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk, where fierce street fighting has erupted.
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the region, told Ukrainian television that Russian bombardment had sparked a massive fire at a chemical plant in the city. Ukrainian officials estimate that up to 800 individuals are hiding in underground bomb shelters at the factory.
Fighting in the Severodonetsk region of eastern Ukraine has lasted more than three months, as Russia turned its attention from taking Kyiv’s capital to seizing the Luhansk and Donetsk areas of eastern Ukraine, known as Donbas.
Taking control of Severodonetsk and its twin city, Lysychansk, would bring Russia closer to its aim of controlling Luhansk.