The US is urging Americans not to go to Ukraine after the death of a young man in the country

An American who had fled the United States to fight in Ukraine against Russian forces was killed, according to family members, with the Pentagon issuing a warning today to American nationals trying to go to the scene of this deadly conflict.

Willie Joseph Kansel, who was killed on Monday, April 25, at the age of 22, had arrived in Ukraine in mid-March, Rebecca Canberra’s mother told CNN.

“We continue to urge the Americans not to go to Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN, referring to the young man as “sad” and expressing support for the family.

“It’s an ongoing war zone (…) it’s not a place for Americans to go,” he said.

“She wanted to go there because she believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and she wanted to be a part of it so that (the threat) could be stopped there and not get here,” Rebecca Canberra said of her son.

The young man leaves behind his wife and a child of seven months, according to the American press. Brittany Chancellor’s wife confirmed his death in a statement sent to several American media outlets, emphasizing the “bravery” of her husband, a “hero”.

A former Marine, he was involved with a private paramilitary company and volunteered to go to Ukraine.

A British national has also been killed in Ukraine and another is reported missing, a British Foreign Office spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

The two men also fought as volunteers in the Ukrainian army, according to British media.

Shortly after Russia’s invasion of his country on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an “international legion” of foreign volunteers to help defend Ukraine.

In early March, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba had spoken of about 20,000 foreign volunteers who had come to the war-torn country.

Source: AMPE