• A former US Marine has died fighting in Ukraine, his family told CNN and Fox News.
  • Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, leaves behind his wife and infant son after he was killed Monday.
  • Cancel signed up to fight in Ukraine in March and was paid during his time there, his mother said.

A 22-year-old American citizen was killed in Ukraine after being hired to fight for the war-torn nation, CNN reported on Thursday, citing an interview with the deceased's family.

Willy Joseph Cancel, a former US marine, was paid by a private military contracting company to take part in combat in Ukraine, Cancel's mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told the outlet.

CNN reported that Cancel was killed on Monday, and his body has not been found.

According to Cabrera, Cancel had a full-time job as a corrections officer in Tennessee and took up part-time work with the military company before the war in Ukraine began, per CNN.

When contractors were sought to fight in Ukraine, Cancel agreed to go, per the outlet. His mother said he then flew to Poland on March 12 before crossing into Ukraine on March 12 or 13.

"He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn't come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn't have to be involved in it," Cabrera said, per CNN.

Cancel is survived by his wife and a seven-month-old son. His widow, Brittany Cancel, told Fox News that her late husband's "main mission in life" was helping others, which motivated him to travel to Ukraine.

"My husband was very brave and a hero," she said, per Fox News. "I did not expect to be a widow at 23 years old or for our son to be without a father. All I want is for him to come home and to give him the proper burial he deserves."

An official from the State Department told CNN that it is "aware of these reports" and is "closely monitoring the situation."

"We once again reiterate US citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of US citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials, and that US citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so, using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options," the official said, per the outlet.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a separate request for comment from Insider.

Earlier on Thursday, the UK Foreign Office confirmed that a British national had been killed while fighting in Ukraine and said it was urgently seeking information about another British citizen who had gone missing there.

The slain Briton is believed to be a 36-year-old former British soldier who served in the Royal Logistics Corps.

Ukraine has appealed for foreign volunteers to travel to Ukraine to help fight off its Russian invaders, forming an "International Legion" in late February. More than 20,000 people from over 50 countries have joined the force, Ukraine's Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov told CNN.

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