Benjamin Giorgio Galli, a 27-year-old from Varese, has died while fighting for the International Legion of Ukraine against the Russian army, sources said on Tuesday.
Condolences to Galli's family and a message in which he is described as a “hero of Ukraine” have appeared on his Facebook profile, which features a photo of him in uniform with a gun.
Though originally from Varese, Galli had Dutch citizenship.
Initial reports suggest that the young man, a member of the International Legion fighting alongside Kiev forces, was killed by a cluster bomb.
Galli is the second confirmed Italian victim in Ukraine, although the precise number of deceased foreign fighters from Italy is yet uncertain.
In late March, Edy Ongaro, a 46-year-old military man of Venetian origin who had been fighting with the separatist forces of the Donbass for eight years, was killed, most likely by hand grenade.
A note sent in April by the Russian Defence Ministry to Palazzo Chigi, published by Corriere della Sera, reported that there were 61 Italian ‘mercenaries’, of whom 10 returned home, and 11 died in combat. However no official confirmation of these figures was ever received from by the Italian government.
