A U.S. teacher who was in Ukraine caring for his sick partner was killed during a Russian attack on Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv, according to his sister and a local official.
James Whitney Hill, 67 years old, was one of four people killed in a shelling incident on one of the city’s main streets, the local official said Thursday.
Mr. Hill was found with his passport, which said he was born in Minnesota, the official said.
His sister Cheryl Hill Gordon said the U.S. Embassy called their brother Robin Hill early Thursday morning to notify the family that Mr. Hill was dead.
A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said an American citizen died in Ukraine on Thursday, but declined to give the person’s name or any other details.
“Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment,” the spokesman said.
Mr. Hill, who went by Jimmy with friends and family, identified himself as a freelance lecturer on his Facebook page, which was filled with condolences on Thursday.
Ms. Hill said her brother spent the past 25 years teaching throughout Europe, with most of that time in Ukraine. His bio on Facebook said he lectured at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. The father of two loved baseball and fly fishing, Ms. Hill said.
Mr. Hill had been home for Christmas, his sister said, but went back to Ukraine to help his partner, Iryna Teslenko, get into a special hospital to begin advance treatment for her multiple sclerosis.
The couple remained in Chernihiv as Russian forces invaded the country. As attacks on the city intensified, his Facebook feeds became more urgent.
“We want to take a family with children out with us. It’s not safe here. But it’s not safe,” he wrote on March 13.
Ms. Teslenko, who is from Ukraine, was too weak to travel, he said in another post. He wrote that they often sheltered with others at the local hospital where his partner, whom he called Ira, was a patient.
“Not allowed to take photos. Spies throughout city. Bombing has intensified no way out,” he wrote March 15.
“Intense bombing! Still alive. Limited food. Room very cold. Ira in intensive care,” he continued, in what would be his last message on Facebook.
Ms. Teslenko’s condition couldn’t be determined Thursday.
Katya Hill, another sibling, said her brother only left his partner’s side to go out and look for food. She last spoke to him on March 5.
“When the bombing increased, the men in the hospital were asked if they wanted a gun. And Jim said, ‘No, I’m not carrying a gun.’ And he said, ‘But if you give me a fishing rod and some bait, I’ll try to catch some fish.’ They did not get his joke,” she said. “My brother had the sense of humor in the family, and he retained his humor, except for the last couple of days that we were in contact. I think he was realizing how bad it was getting.”
The family had reached out to federal officials to ask for help in getting Mr. Hill and his partner out of the country, which would require an ambulance transport, according to Ms. Hill.
She said her brother also wanted to try to help other Ukrainian families he had met secure safe passage, she said.
“He just was not going to leave Ira,” she said. “He would never abandon her.”
–Isabel Coles and Joseph Pisani contributed to this article.
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