CHERNIHIV, Ukraine — A U.S. citizen was killed Thursday in Ukraine, in the city of Chernihiv, northwest of Kyiv.
A State Department official confirmed the news to ABC News.
Local police posted on Facebook, saying that “US citizens” were among the dead of “a heavy artillery attack on unarmed civilian residents of the city.”
Chernihiv police officers were reportedly helping evacuate people to medical facilities.
The New York Times reports that Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry confirmed the identity of the American victim as 68-year-old James Whitney Hill.
He reportedly traveled to Ukraine in December so his partner could be treated for multiple sclerosis.
The State Department has not provided additional details.
A local governor says at least 53 people were killed over the past day by Russian attacks on Chernihiv, including people lined up to buy bread.
