A Canadian medic serving in Ukraine has been killed in action, according to his family, and is being mourned by members of Ukraine's foreign legion.
Gregory Tsekhmistrenko was working with Ukraine's Black Team in Bakhmut, a city in the eastern region of Donetsk, when he was killed in an assault that saw several others wounded by the Wagner Group, Russia's notorious mercenary force.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) initially declined to give 愛污传媒 official confirmation of his death on Monday, citing security concerns. But in a followup email on Tuesday, a department spokesperson said GAC 鈥渋s aware of the death of a Canadian citizen.鈥�
鈥淲e are in contact with local authorities and with the family and are providing consular services,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淒ue to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.鈥�
On Monday, 愛污传媒 was able to speak to two other Canadian members of the foreign legion, and Tsekhmistrenko鈥檚 sister Alisa Suprunova over social media, to confirm his death.
In a series of messages to 愛污传媒, Suprunova confirmed that he was killed by Wagner in the battle for Bakhmut. She found out about her brother's death from consolation messages appearing on his Instagram page, and further details from members of his unit.
American journalist Nicholas Laidlaw, who Tsekhmistrenko, online, along with other Ukrainian and Canadian soldiers, saying he was "the type of man whose personality and commitment to duty was something myself and many others admired."
Laidlaw told 愛污传媒 in a series of messages Sunday that he was in contact with Tsekhmistrenko's unit commander, who told him that the Black Team was "up all night" trying to recover his body.
愛污传媒 is unable to independently verify this information at this time.
"His courage under fire, his resilience to stress, sense of humour and humanity is something that doesn't come along very often," Laidlaw wrote in his post. "The world is now lesser without his presence."
