Jimmy Hill.Photo: Jimmy Hill/FaceBook
In a media press conference on Saturday, Katya Hillspoke about her late brotherand detailed his love story with his partner Irina Teslenko, who their family more commonly refers to as Ira.
“My brother sacrificed his life for her,” Katya said of Jimmy, 68. “That’s something I haven’t had, so it’s a beautiful love story. But, unfortunately, it has a tragic end.”
“When he met Ira, he said he had met his life’s partner,” she noted. “When I was talking to him this last visit to Ukraine, he said, ‘I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. I have to do everything I can to try to stop the progression of MS.’ "
“I can’t explain what the connection is between two human beings that fall in love and have that strong bond for one another, that they will go through everything,” Katya added.
Jimmy was killed during a Russian attack in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, his other sister, Cheryl Gordon, wrote on her Facebook page, according tothe Associated Press.
“The State Department has not yet contacted the family to let us know the specifics — what happened to his body and where his remains are now,” Katya said in her weekend press conference. “[These are] answers we still hope and expect to receive from our government.”
“The family wishes to thank Senator Casey of Pennsylvania and Senator Smith and Klobuchar from Minnesota for reaching out to the State Department on the family’s behalf,” she added.
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Jimmy was “making plans for getting out” of Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, per Katya. He had Airbnbs in various locations, including Idaho Falls and Montana, and planned “how many families he could have living at his property, and setting up, like, a little Ukraine in Idaho.”
“Jimmy was such a special person [with] friends around the world, and always trying to bring people together. [He] was a peacemaker,” Katya said. “And there is an irony here, but I haven’t been able to process that of what’s going on to how he lived his life.”
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Jimmy’s death came about as Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
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With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin, 69, insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy, 44, vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
