Valerijus Polkovnikovas, a Lithuanian who fought for Ukraine, died in a hospital in Kyiv, Rokas Pauliukaitis, a Lithuanian Air Force pilot, announced on Facebook on Monday.
"Valerijus Polkovnikovas passed away. A classmate, a friend, a man who could not stay away from seeing injustice,” wrote Pauliukaitis.
According to 15min, Polkovnikovas served in Ukraine for several months. He was recently hospitalised in Kyiv.
Lithuania’s Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas also shared the news on Facebook, but his post was later deleted.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that the country’s embassy in Ukraine received confirmation at the hospital that a Lithuanian citizen had died. However, the ministry said it had no information on whether Polkovnikovas died from injuries sustained in combat.
Later on Tuesday, Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Valdemaras Sarapinas confirmed that Polkovnikovas did not fight on the frontline.
"To the knowledge of the embassy, this Lithuanian citizen did not fight at the front and the cause of his death is not related to injuries sustained during the war," Sarapinas told the Lrytas.lt news website.
At the request of his relatives, no further details about the soldier's death are being made public, the ambassador said.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
