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

An American man was killed in a Russian attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, where he was seeking medical treatment for his partner.

The death of Jim Hill, of Diggs, Idaho, was reported Thursday by his sister.

“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 forces, his sister, Cheryl Hill Gordon, wrote on Facebook. “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.

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

During that meeting, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya denied claims that Russian forces targeted a breadline in Chernihiv. He also denied reports that Russia attacked two civilian targets, including a maternity hospital and a theater where civilians were seeking refuge in the city of 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.”