American man killed in Ukraine while waiting in bread line, family says

A U.S. man was killed this week in Ukraine while he was waiting in a bread line for food in the northern city of Chernihiv, his family said.

Jim Hill of Idaho, who had been living in the capital city, Kyiv, went two hours north to Chernihiv to seek medical care for his partner, who has multiple sclerosis, the family told NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis on Thursday.

Hill’s sister, Cheryl Hill Gordon, wrote Thursday on Facebook: “My brother Jimmy Hill was killed yesterday in Chernihiv, Ukraine. He was waiting in a bread line with several other people when they were gunned down by Russian military snippers. His body was found in the street by the local police.”

Katya Hill told KARE that the family received confirmation of her brother’s death through the U.S. Embassy. 

Katya Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Her brother was active on social media in his final weeks, updating friends and family about conditions in Ukraine through his Facebook account.

“Not allowed to take photos. Spies throughout city,” he wrote in his last post Tuesday. “Bombing has intensified noway out.”

In a previous post, he said his partner, Ira, was in intensive care, with limited food.

“We could try a break out tomorrow but Ira’s mom doesnt want to,” he wrote Monday. “Each day people are killed trying to escape. But bombs falling here at night. Risk either way…I only have wifi a few hours a day. We have enough food for a few days.”

At least 53 civilian residents were killed by Russian bombs and shells in Chernihiv on Wednesday, Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said Thursday at a U.N. Security Council meeting.

During the meeting, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya denied claims that Russian forces targeted a bread line in Chernihiv. He also denied reports that Russia attacked two civilian targets — a maternity hospital and a theater where civilians were seeking refuge — in Mariupol.

“There are no Russian military in Chernihiv,” he said. “I think this is the consequences of just distributing weapons to whoever wants to have them in Ukraine.”

Abigail Williams contributed.