He was there to seek medical attention for his partner. His sister reported the death of Jim Hill on Thursday.
“My brother Jimmy Hill was murdered yesterday in Chernihiv (Ukraine). His sister Cheryl Hill Gordon wrote that he was in line at a breadline with other people when he was killed by Russian military forces. The local police found his body on the street.
According to Ukrainian officials, 10 people died Wednesday while waiting at the bread line in Chernihiv.
The death of an American was confirmed by the Chernihiv police, but not by the U.S. State Department. Hill was the second American citizen killed in conflict after Brent Renaud, a journalist and filmmaker.
Hill wrote poignant Facebook posts in the weeks leading up to his death. He described “indiscriminate” bombing in a city under siege, and joked about wanting “feeble-mindedness” if captured.
He wrote, on March 8, under a photo of him: “me unshaven since 10 days.” In case they catch me, I’m trying to appear old and weak-minded (not difficult). I am currently working on my Rainman accent, ‘Oh Boy
Hill, a native Minnesotan from Eveleth, was living in Driggs in Idaho. He identified himself as a lecturer at Universities in Kyiv (the capital of Ukraine) and Warsaw in Poland. He claimed he was there with his partner to get her medical treatment in Chernihiv.
“We are on the 3rd floor of Hospital. Many patients are in basement bomb shelter. He wrote that it was cold down there, and there was no internet on February 26, two days after the invasion began.
He said four days later: “Nobody is safe in Chernihiv.” Indiscriminate bombing. … Ukrainian forces are in control of the city, but they are being surrounded. This is a siege. No one is in. Nobody is out.
Viacheslav Chaus, the local governor, stated that at least 53 people were brought to the morgues in the last 24 hours. They had been killed by heavy Russian air strikes and ground fire in Chernihiv.
