American Fred Grandy was killed during Russian attack on Kyiv on 17 June: he had come to Ukraine as a volunteer, - NYT
A massive Russian strike in Kyiv on 17 June killed Fred Grandy, a US citizen who had come to the country as a volunteer. He was depressed by the change in US policy led by President Donald Trump on assistance to Ukraine.
This is reported by The New York Times, Censor.NET informs.
According to his family, American artist Fred Grandy, frustrated by the changes in the US position, arrived in the Ukrainian capital in late May - shortly before his 62nd birthday - and decided to clear the rubble after the Russian shelling.
"He was a person who wanted to make a difference so badly, I talked to him about five days ago, and he told me that he felt he was right where he should be. And he was hoping he could stay for five or six months more and help," said his 75-year-old sister, Sietska Reed, who lives near Bend, Oregon.
The NYT writes that Fred Grandy appears to have become the first American civilian to be killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv. According to Ukrainian authorities, the man died of shrapnel wounds.
The US State Department has confirmed the death of a US citizen.
According to his older sister, Grandy left for Ukraine mainly because of the change in the US position in the war. Under President Joe Biden, the United States was Ukraine's main ally. But Donald Trump has publicly supported Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, repeated Kremlin talking points, and publicly criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As Reed noted, this deeply angered her brother.
"He thought, you just don’t let a bully do that stuff, and you don’t just abandon people. Then he saw how hard they fought to save their country, or are fighting still. It was just hard to understand walking away, you know? And he just believed that people need a hand up," the woman noted.
According to her, he was working as a volunteer at a charity in Kyiv. Grandy told his sister that he was staying at a hotel and joked that he had thrown clothes hangers at drones flying nearby.
The deceased American was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, and grew up with five sisters and a brother. Grandy was married once, but the marriage did not work out. He also had no children and lied about his age, because he thought of himself as forever 39.
Grandy has worked as a bartender and a bouncer, but in recent years he made his living building things. He used reclaimed wood to fashion bird houses, planters and signs, and he also made colorful flowers out of metal.
His family says he travelled a lot. Before coming to Ukraine, he visited France, Germany and Poland. In November, he sold his house in Virginia and briefly lived with his family in Vancouver.
Attack on Kyiv on the night of 17 June
On the night of 17 June 2025, the Russian occupiers launched a massive attack on Kyiv with drones and missiles of various types. As of 16.00 on 18 June, 28 people were killed in Kyiv as a result of this attack, and 142 others were injured.
