For a more reliable connection. get that and more with xfi complete. an american is among the upgrade today. casualties in russia s war in ukraine. a new york official says that 22-year-old willie joseph was killed while fighting along side ukrainian forces. meanwhile, the mayor of mariupol says that the situation there is dire. plans to evacuate people stuck in a steel plant stalled overnight. the bombardment of the donbas region continues. the pentagon says, the russians are behind schedule in efforts to take the east of ukraine. joining me now is nbc news correspondent raf sanchez in lviv. thank you for being here, raf. tell us what is happening on the ground. tiffany, if we were speaking 24 hours ago, i would have told you there was a glimmer of hope for evacuation for those
reporter: strong words. even if the civilians who are trapped under there manage to get out through diplomacy, through the u.n. or red cross, that still leaves the soldiers there who say the russian troops have begun to storm the facility on the ground. the mayor s office said it would likely take a miracle to get them out and they say they will not leave without weapons in their hands. thank you so much. we re also now hearing from the family of an american citizen killed while fighting in ukraine. 22-year-old willie joseph cancel, a former u.s. marine, died earlier this week. for willie joseph cancel, this wasn t his war. the 22-year-old had already served his country in the marines, but after russia invaded ukraine, cancel s family says he felt the need to leave tennessee and join the fight. even before he left to go to ukraine, you know, he was proud
22-year-old american, willie joseph cancel had been working with a private military contracting firm and was fighting with an international b brigade when he was killed monday. that s one of the proudest days of his life when he was able to call himself a marine. and even before he left to go to ukraine, you know, he was proud because he wanted to do the right thing and you know, fight alongside the underdogs and help them with things that he thought was important. he knew they needed help. and it was just something that he felt that he could help in because he had the experience and the training and the knowledge to go and help them. he followed his heart. on friday, president biden
News that he went there wanted to help people. he had always felt that was his main mission in life. adding that they have a seven-month-year-old son who will not be without a father. according to family, willie lived and worked in tennessee where he was a correctional officer. he inspired to pursue a career in law enforcement. he joined the marine corps in 2017 as an infantry riflemen. in 2020, a military judge convicted him of violating a lawful general order, he was given a bad conduct arch. the state department said they were closely monitoring the situation surrounding his death. we are right now in the process of reaching out to his family to learn more details. i would be remiss if i did not take this opportunity to reiterate what we have said for weeks now, americans should not travel to ukraine. it is inherently dangerous. despite the warning, thousands of foreign fighters, including americans, have traveled to support ukraine, putting their lives on the line
The war in ukraine struck home close for one marine who was killed fighting alongside the ukraine military. our reporter with our new york station has the details for us. an outpouring of grief for 22-year-old willie joseph cancel, the former u.s. marine who fought and died alongside ukrainian forces. it paints my heart because i am a former marine. i did 20 years in the marine corps. i know he wanted to serve for freedom, but he paid the ultimate sacrifice, and it is sad to hear. will these mother first confirmed the death to cnn, saying that he was killed on monday while working with the private military contractor. the news, a devastating blow for his home s town of orange county, new york, which once served as a law enforcement firefighter. a lot of kids his age do not understand what they want to do in life. he seemed to have figured it out at a young age. the county executive writing in part that we will never forget will ease privy and sacrifice. his wife, brittani, te