A U.S. Marine veteran was killed late last month on the outskirts of the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, where much of the war has been concentrated.
Cooper "Harris" Andrews, 26, was hit by a mortar on about April 19 on the access road into Bakhmut used by the Ukrainian military to resupply and evacuate civilians, his mother, Willow Andrews, told CNN. His body has not yet been recovered due to the significant fighting around the city.
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He left Cleveland, Ohio, in November to join the Foreign Legion in Ukraine, a group of foreigners who have decided to fight with the Ukrainian military. His contract ended in March, but he decided to stay on, according to his mother.
I’m very sad to say this, but one of the @PopularFront_ community has been killed fighting in Ukraine. Cooper ‘Harris’ Andrews, 26, was a long time PF supporter and part of our Discord. He was a former US Marine and lifelong leftist organiser. He was killed in Bakhmut. pic.twitter.com/ZdNIzRlXdw
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) April 30, 2023
The State Department confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen but did not identify the person.
“We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance,” a State Department spokesperson told the outlet. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.”
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Andrews served in the Marines from 2017 through 2022 as a ground electronics transmission systems maintainer and left the service as a sergeant, according to Task & Purpose. In his time in the Marines, he was awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Over the course of the winter and dating back to last fall, much of the war was concentrated around the tiny city of Bakhmut, which is the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine that has largely been contested Ukrainian territory since 2014. Russian forces refocused their effort on capturing the Donbas when they retreated from their initial plan to capture the capital of Kyiv and oust the government.