British man killed in Ukraine identified as former Israeli soldier Jonathan Shenkin

The 45-year-old man killed in Ukraine in December has been identified as British Jew Jonathan Shenkin. 

Shenkin, who originated from Glasgow, also served in the Israeli army. He is survived by his son and daughter, to whom he was devoted.

His family paid tribute to him on social media, saying he “died as a hero in an act of bravery as a paramedic, receiving a medal for ‘Valour In Combat’.”

“On enlisting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he made the ultimate sacrifice to defend values we all believe in. Spending much of his life helping others, he was notably involved in the 2009 rescue of an American citizen held hostage in the West Bank,” his brother Daniel wrote.

Daniel added that Jonathan started his own security business, which led him to “missions in many hostile arenas around the world. These included two tours of Iraq, UN military contracts in Afghanistan, a military medic in Oman, close protection in Somalia, security detail in Angola, amongst many more.”

Shenkin also volunteered during natural disasters in the Philippines, receiving multiple awards from various Philippine government authorities for training hand-to-hand combat, close protection and firearms.

He also trained the Special Forces in both the Philippines and South Korea, marines in Kabul, Drug Enforcement Agencies, The Philippine Bureau of Investigation, the military and the police in multiple countries.

Daniel concluded the family tribute by saying that his brother, who had a “lifelong passion for Israel”, lived by the words of Winston Churchill: “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope.”

“We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesman told Daily Mail.