London: A former British soldier fighting for Ukrainian army has been killed, his family said.
According to the BBC, Jordan Gatley, who left the British army in March and travelled to Ukraine, was described as “a hero” by his father Dean in a tribute on social media.
He was killed during the battle for the eastern city of Severodonetsk.
The UK Foreign Office said that it is “supporting the family of a British man who has died in Ukraine”. His father wrote in a Facebook post that his son was helping in training local forces.
His son was fatally shot on the front line while defending the city and they were informed of his death on Friday, BBC reported.
He had gone to Ukraine to help “after careful consideration”, the father said.
He further said that the family “had several messages from his team out there telling us of his wealth of knowledge, his skills as a soldier and his love of his job.
“His team say they all loved him, as did we, and he made a massive difference to many people’s lives, not only soldiering, but also by training the Ukrainian forces.
“Jordan and his team were so proud of the work they were doing and he often told me that the missions they were going on were dangerous, but necessary.
“He loved his job and we are so proud of him. He truly was a hero and will forever be in our hearts.”
According to BBC, fighting around Severodonetsk has lasted for more than three months, as Russia shifted its focus from trying to take the capital Kyiv to capturing the Luhansk and the Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine – a mostly industrial area known as Donbas.
