OTTAWA, May 3. /TASS/. Two Canadian citizens, who joined the armed forces of Ukraine, were killed during the hostilities in Artyomovsk last week, the CTV channel reported on Wednesday.

The victims were identified as 27-year-old Kyle Porter from Alberta, and 21-year-old Cole Zelenco, from Ontario. According to the report, the Canadians were members of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and died as a result of artillery shelling. Zelenco and Porter were the only Canadian citizens in their military unit.

The Canadian foreign ministry has not yet confirmed the information.

Located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Artyomovsk was a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. As adviser to the acting DPR head Yan Gagin told TASS on April 18, Russian forces already controlled almost 90% of Artyomovsk. Acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said on April 24 that Russian forces had advanced in the northwestern and western parts of Artyomovsk, but the situation remains tense there.