Former British soldier is shot dead in Ukraine
AFORMER British soldier has been shot and killed in Ukraine, his family have said. Jordan Gatley, from Derbyshire, was named in a social media tribute post by his father, who described him as a “hero” who will “forever be in our hearts”.
Dean Gatley said his son had left the British Army in March this year “to continue his career as a soldier in other areas”.
Dean went to Ukraine to help “after careful consideration”, his father added, saying that on Friday the family received the “devastating” news of his death.
Mr Gatley said his son had been shot and killed in the city of Sievierodonetsk, in eastern Ukraine.
In the Facebook post, he said: “After careful consideration, he went to the Ukraine to help.
“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 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.
“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.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Ukraine.”
In April, tributes were paid to Scott Sibley, a British military veteran reportedly killed in Ukraine while fighting against Russian forces. At that time the Foreign Office confirmed a British national had died in Ukraine.
Yesterday, both Ukrainian and Russian authorities said that control of Sievierodonetsk, a city with a prewar population of 100,000, remains contested.
The city and neighbouring Lysychansk are the last major areas of Luhansk province, in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine not under the control of pro-Russia forces.
Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the separatist Luhansk People’s Republic, said Ukrainian fighters remain in an industrial area of the city, including a chemical plant where civilians had taken shelter from days of Russian shelling.
Luhansk provincial governor Serhii Haidai reported on Saturday that a big fire broke out at the plant during hours of Russian shelling.
After failing to capture Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, early in the war, Moscow focused on seizing the parts of the largely Russian-speaking Donbas still in Ukrainian hands, as well as the country’s southern coast.
However, instead of securing a swift, decisive takeover, Russian forces have been drawn into a long, laborious battle, thanks in part to the Ukrainian military’s use of Westernsupplied weapons.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address on Saturday that he is proud of the Ukrainian defenders managing to hold back the Russian advance in the Donbas, where Moscowbacked separatists have controlled much of the territory for eight years.
He said: “Remember how in Russia, in the beginning of May, they hoped to seize all of the Donbas? It’s already the 108th day of the war, already June. Donbas is holding on.”