A former British soldier fighting for Ukraine has died on the front lines in the Donbas region, grieving kin say.
The shattered parents of Jordan Gatley wrote on Facebook that their son was shot and killed by Russian forces in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which is now said to be at least two-thirds under Russian control.
“He truly was a hero and will forever be in our hearts,” Jordan’s father, Dean Gatley, wrote Saturday.
“Jordan left the British Army in March this year to continue his career as a soldier in other areas. The war against Europe had begun, so after careful consideration, he went to the Ukraine to help,” the dad said.
It is unclear when exactly Jordan died and how old the fallen solider was.
“We have 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 dad said. “His team say they all loved him, as did we, and he made a massive difference to many peoples lives, not only soldiering, but also by training the Ukrainian forces.”
Severodonetsk became the center of Russian’s assault on Ukraine in recent days as the Kremlin doubled-down on its strategy to capture the Donbas region. Both the Ukrainians and the Russians said the opposing side suffered significant losses from the fighting.
Last week, two other British nationals were captured by Russians while fighting on behalf of Ukraine and sentenced to death.
The leader of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine said Sunday that the two soldiers would not be pardoned because they are guilty of “mercenary activities.” The Russians also captured a Moroccan solider volunteering for Ukraine.
With Post Wires
