An American man killed in a Russian attack in northern Ukraine was trying to find food for his sick partner, his family members told media outlets as they mourned the loss of one of the first U.S. citizens to die in the invasion.
Jimmy Hill was “gunned down” in Chernihiv, Ukraine, while waiting in a bread line with several other people, said his sister, Cheryl Hill Gordon, in a Facebook post. His body was found in the street by local police, she said.
Ukrainian officials reported that 10 people were killed Wednesday while standing in the bread line in Chernihiv. Local police and the U.S. State Department confirmed the death of an American but did not identify the person who was killed.
Months before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Jimmy Hill traveled there to be with his Ukrainian partner, Ira, who has multiple sclerosis, Hill’s sister, Katya Hill, told CNN.
His family members pleaded with him to flee the country, but he was determined to stay.
“He was not going to leave Ira’s side in her condition,” Katya Hill said.
Gordon told the Washington Post that her brother and his partner traveled four hours to Chernihiv Regional Hospital for treatment after she came down with pneumonia.
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Throughout the month, Jimmy Hill’s Facebook posts chronicled the harrowing conditions he faced in Chernihiv amid fires, explosions and air raid sirens. The posts also documented Ira’s condition and his own feeling of helplessness as the two faced hunger and cold temperatures.
In his final post Tuesday, Hill wrote “Intense bombing! still alive. Limited food. Room very cold. Ira in intensive care.”
Katya Hill told CNN her brother was trying to find food for himself, Ira and other patients at the hospital when died.
“My brother was the helper that people find in a crisis,” she said.
Hill grew up in Minnesota and lived in several other states as an adult. He identified himself as a lecturer at universities in Kyiv and Warsaw, Poland.
He was also an Airbnb host who loved to travel, splitting his time between his family in the U.S. and his life in Ukraine, Gordon told the Washington Post.
Katya Hill told CNN that the family has been unable to reach Ira’s mother and that they do not know where her brother’s body is.
“The hardest thing that we’re going to have to go through is not having that kind of closure,” she said.
USA TODAY has reached out to Katya Hill for comment.
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Hill was at least the second U.S. citizen to be killed in the conflict in Ukraine. The first reported American death was the killing of journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud last week.
Local governor Viacheslav Chau told Ukrainian TV on Thursday that at least 53 people had been brought to morgues over the past 24 hours who were killed during heavy air attacks and ground fire in Chernihiv.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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