A former US Marine died while helping Ukrainian forces fight Russian troops, his relatives reported in a statement, in what was the first death of a US citizen reported since the start of the war. .
Willy Joseph Cancel, aged 22, was killed on Monday while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. The former Marine recently served as a corrections officer in Tennessee, and had Marine Corps experience between 2017 and 2021.
Cabrera explained to the aforementioned media outlet that his son signed up to work with the private military contractor shortly before 29 February, the date on which Vladimir Putin formally began the invasion of Ukraine.
“I wanted to go because I thought he was fighting for Ukraine, and I wanted to be part of that to contain him there, so he wouldn’t come here , and that maybe our American soldiers shouldn’t be involved in it,” he said.
The fundraising page created by a man identified as Cancel’s father highlights that the young man had a 7-month-old son, and came to volunteer with the fire department in New York when I was a high school student.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, offered statements this Friday sending condolences to Cancel’s family, although she indicated that the United States government has not officially confirmed his death . She took the opportunity to warn Americans not to travel to Ukraine under any circumstances.
“First of all, our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We don’t have official confirmation, although I’ve seen the reports, but we haven’t had that official process through the government, so I can’t talk about any other details about him beyond that,” Psaki said at the press conference.
“We know Americans are looking for ways to help and reports on this individual indicate that he is a veteran. He had a son, I think, and he certainly sounded like a very passionate young man. We know that people want help, but we encourage Americans to find other ways to do it, instead of traveling to Ukraine to fight,” warned the White House spokeswoman.
Likewise, Psaki recalled that Ukraine is an active war zone, warning of the “significant risks” faced by Americans who remain in that country.
With information from Associated Press / CNN