On 3 July, a volunteer from Lithuania, Valerijus Polkovnikovas, who was injured during the fighting near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, died in a Kyiv hospital. A friend of the deceased, Lithuanian Air Force pilot Rokas Pauliukaitis, informed on Facebook.
Photo posted by Rokas Pauliukaitis, a friend of the deceased Lithuanian volunteer
“I received sad news today. Valery Polkovnikov has died in a hospital in Kyiv after sustaining injuries in Bakhmut. A classmate, a friend, a person who could not stand by and see injustice,” Rokas Pauliukaitis wrote on Facebook.
According to LRT, Polkovnikovas had been fighting in Ukraine for several months.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the staff of the embassy in Ukraine went to the hospital, where they received confirmation of the death of the Lithuanian citizen.
Lithuanian diplomats are investigating the situation. Authorities are in constant contact with Valerijus Polkovnikovas’s relatives and law enforcement agencies.
In April 2023, according to European Pravda, two Lithuanian citizens serving in the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine were wounded during the fighting near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast.
Tags: Bakhmut, international volunteers, Russian war against Ukraine