Cooper “Harris” Andrews, 26, died while helping evacuees in Bakhmut, the Popular Front said in a statement on Twitter. Andrews’ mother, Willow Andrews, tells CNN that her son was killed just over a week ago by a mortar. (Twitter)
CLEVLEAND, Ohio (Tribune News Service) — A Cleveland man who was fighting against the Russian military in Ukraine has been killed during the fighting, according to a statement from a group of journalists in the country.
Cooper “Harris” Andrews, 26, died while helping evacuees in Bakhmut, the Popular Front said in a statement on Twitter. Andrews’ mother, Willow Andrews, tells CNN that her son was killed just over a week ago by a mortar.
She tells CNN that her son’s body has not been recovered because of the ongoing fighting near Bakhmut.
Jake Hanrahan, a journalist working in the Ukraine, reports Andrews, a former Marine, was a member of a group called Resistance Committee.
“He was funny, not too serious, but deeply dedicated to what he believed in,” Hanrahan wrote on Twitter. “We didn’t know he was out there and are shocked by the news. Condolences from all of us go out to his family and friends.”
A statement from the Popular Front says Andrews was in the Marines for two years, achieving the rank of sergeant. He worked on community housing projects in Cleveland, and was a volunteer firefighter during wildfires in Texas, Colorado and Idaho, the statement says.
CNN reports he left Cleveland in November to join the fighting in Ukraine.
The U.S. State Department released a statement confirming a U.S. citizen had been killed in Ukraine but it did not release an identity, Fox News reports.
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