Thousands of Ukrainians flee Russian-occupied areas 4:08 (CNN) — An American citizen, Willy Joseph Cancel, has been killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in Ukraine, members of Cancel’s family confirmed to CNN. The 22-year-old was working with a private military contracting company when he died on Monday. The company had sent him to Ukraine and was getting paid while he was fighting there, Cancel’s mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. Cancel, a former United States Marine, according to his mother, signed up to work for the private military contracting firm in addition to his full-time job as a corrections officer in Tennessee shortly before the war broke out in Ukraine in late February, Cabrera said. When the war started, the company, according to Cabrera, was looking for contractors to fight in the Ukraine and Cancel agreed to go, Cabrera said. “He wanted to go because he believed in what the Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of that to contain the war there so it didn’t come here, and maybe our American soldiers didn’t have to get involved in that,” Cabrera told CNN in a telephone interview. Cancel was a former United States Marine. He died fighting in the Ukraine, according to his mother, Rebecca Cabrera. Cancel flew to Poland on March 12 and crossed into Ukraine between March 12 and 13, Cabrera said. The group of men Cancel was fighting alongside were from “all different countries,” Cabrera said. Those who informed Cabrera about the death of his son notified him that his body had not been found. “They haven’t found his body,” he said. “They are trying, the men who were with him, but it was either grab his body or be killed, but we would love for him to come back to us.” A State Department official said they are “aware of these reports and are closely monitoring the situation.” “Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment,” the official added. “We reiterate once again that US citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the targeting of US citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials, and that US citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if necessary. safe to do so”using whatever commercial or private ground transportation option is available.” Willy Joseph Cance died fighting alongside the Ukrainians in Ukraine. Who was Willy Joseph Cancel Cancel leaves behind a 7-month-old baby and a wife, Cabrera said. Cancel lived in Tennessee before leaving for Ukraine and is originally from Orange County, New York, said Devin Tietze Jr., Cancel’s brother-in-law.Cabrera said Cancel “always put everyone before himself.”“He was a really thoughtful person. He always put everyone ahead of himself, even when situations were very stressful,” Cabrera said of his son. “He always made everyone laugh and calm them down. He was the man who stood up when everyone else backed down.” Tietze said that Cancel was “the type to fight for what’s right regardless of the outcome,” when asked why Cancel had decided to join the fight at Ukraine “I believed with all my heart that this should not have happened and I wanted to go help the people of Ukraine,” Tietze said in a phone interview Ukraine confirms creation of international legion 0:36 Cabrera said Cancel “wanted” to do military contract work.” It was something he believed in his heart, that was the right thing to do. He was the kind of man who always steps forward when everyone else steps back, and there were a lot of men like that who were with him,” Cabrera said. Earlier on Thursday, the British government confirmed that a UK citizen had killed in Ukraine and said officials are “urgently seeking further information” about another missing person, a UK Foreign Office spokesman told CNN. “We can confirm that a British national has been killed in Ukraine and is holding his family,” they said. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry created a special unit, the International Legion, for foreign fighters who wanted to join the fight against Russia. More than 20,000 volunteers and veterans from 52 countries expressed their desire to join the fight starting March 7, according to Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov, commander of the Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, who will lead this legion, CNN reported. earlier about foreign nationals, including US and UK citizens, who had left home to join the fight in Ukraine. — CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.