A British man killed in Ukraine has been identified as a former Israeli soldier. The former Israeli soldier is Jonathan Shenkin, and he was killed in combat while serving as a medic. His family said he was “killed as a hero with great courage as a medic”
A 45-year-old man who was killed in Ukraine last December has been identified as a British Jew named Jonathan Shenkin. Shenkin, who is originally from Glasgow, Scotland, served in the IDF. He left behind his son and daughter, to whom he was very devoted. His family paid tribute to him on social media and noted that he “was killed as a hero in an act of courage as a medic, and received a medal for heroism in combat.”
“Upon enlisting in the armed forces of Ukraine, he made the ultimate sacrifice to protect values that we all believe in. He spent a significant part of his life helping others, he was particularly involved in the 2009 rescue of an American citizen who was being held hostage in the West Bank,” wrote his brother Daniel.
Daniel added that his brother started his own security business, which led him to “missions in many hostile arenas around the world. These included two tours in Iraq, UN military contracts in Afghanistan, military medic in Oman, close protection in Somalia, security detail in Angola, and many more.” .
Shinkin also volunteered during natural disasters in the Philippines, and received several awards from Philippine government authorities for Krav Maga and firearms training. He also trained the special forces in both the Philippines and South Korea, British soldiers in Kabul, drug enforcement agencies, the Philippine Bureau of Investigation, military and police in several countries.
Jonathan Shenkin
Daniel summed up the family’s tribute to his brother, who had a “lifelong passion for Israel”, living according to the words of Winston Churchill: “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in one word: freedom, justice, respect, duty, mercy , hope”.
“We support the family of a British citizen who died in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman told the British Daily Mail. He is one of eight Britons known to have died fighting in Ukraine since the Russian invasion last year.