Minnesotan Jimmy Hill Killed In Ukraine Amid Russia's Invasion
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota native has been killed in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, according to his family and friends.
The news outlet Ukrainian Public Broadcaster News reported that on Thursday morning, Russian troops fired at civilians who were on the street in a residential district in Chernihiv, which is north of Kyiv. Satellite images show the devastation in that city after heavy shelling the past couple of days.
A witness of the shelling told the news outlet that the citizens were standing in line for water before the shelling. The exact number of those killed in the shelling has not been confirmed, but among them was a U.S. citizen, which police in the area said was a Minnesota native who was born in 1954. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also confirmed that an American had been killed.
The victim's sister, Katya Hill, identified him Thursday as 68-year-old James "Jimmy" Whitney Hill. She says he was killed while standing in line for bread, and that police found his body in the street. She says her family doesn't know if they'll ever see him again.
"We don't know where my brother's body is," Hill said. "The hardest thing that we're gonna have to go through is not having that kind of closure."
Karin Moseley said goodbye to her longtime friend last week over Messenger.
"I knew I had to say goodbye. I knew if I didn't I might not have a chance," Moseley said.
She says he was trapped in a hospital, there to support his Ukrainian partner and her long-term battle with multiple sclerosis.
"And Jimmy replied to me, 'Let's hope we meet again. No man is guaranteed tomorrow,'" Moseley said.
Paul Anderson was one of Hill's classmates from Mahtomedi High School.
"It's a shock to everybody who knew him. It's disbelief. It's like how did this happen? How could this happen to a kid from Mahtomedi," Anderson said. "The worse-case scenario happened."
Hill documented his final days on social media, saying there was intense bombing, little food and no way out.
"It sounded like his conditions were really desperate near the end," Anderson said.
"He let me know how the bombing was, how far away it was," Moseley said. "He let me know how [his partner] Irena was."
Moseley's understanding from Hill was that he volunteered to duck out of the hospital for food or water for others trapped inside.
"The more someone needs help, the more likely Jimmy was gonna help you," she said.
And that didn't surprise Anderson.
"I can imagine Jimmy doing something like that. That's the kind of guy he was," Anderson said.
"He wanted the world a better place, and he made it a better place," Moseley said.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who recently visited Poland to see the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis first-hand, released this statement Thursday night regarding Hill's death:
This is a tragedy. My deepest sympathies go out to Jim's family and loved ones. This completely senseless, unprovoked invasion has taken another innocent life, and this hits so close to home. Jim's friends in Minnesota have described Jim as a dreamer and a helper -- a good person gone too soon. I share in their heartbreak.
