Russia-Ukraine updates: 2 US veterans who joined Ukrainian forces missing

U.S. citizen Willy Joseph Cancel was killed in Ukraine while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops against invading Russian forces, his family confirmed to ABC News early Friday. The news was first reported by CNN.

Cancel, a 22-year-old former U.S. Marine, "was eager to volunteer" when he learned about the war in Ukraine, according to his wife, Brittany Cancel.

"He went there wanting to help people, he had always felt that that was his main mission in life," Brittany Cancel told ABC News in a statement. "My husband was very brave and a hero."

Before going to Ukraine, Cancel was working as a detention officer in Kentucky. He also had dreams of becoming a police officer or firefighter, according to his wife.

"I did not expect to be a widow at 23 years old or for our son to be without a father," she said. "All I want is for him to come home, and to give him the proper burial he deserves."

An official with the U.S. Department of State told ABC News on Friday morning that they "are aware of these reports and are closely monitoring the situation," but declined to comment further "due to privacy considerations."

State Department spokesperson Ned Price told MSNBC later on Friday that the department is "in the process of reaching out to the family ... to learn more details, to ascertain how we might be in a position to best support the family."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki expressed her condolences to Cancel's family at Friday's briefing, saying he "certainly sounded like a very passionate young man."

"A wife is mourning and our hearts are with them," she said.

Psaki also urged Americans not to travel to Ukraine.

"We know people want to help, but we do encourage Americans to find other ways to do so rather than traveling" to Ukraine, she said.

-ABC News' Caroline Guthrie and Conor Finnegan

When Pentagon press secretary John Kirby Kirby was asked at Friday's briefing whether he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is a rational actor, he first responded by saying he couldn't speak to his psyche, adding, "It's hard to look at what he's doing in Ukraine, what his forces are doing in Ukraine, and think that any ethical, moral individual could justify that."

Kirby then appeared to get choked up and paused for several seconds. He said, "Sorry, it's difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious, mature leader would do that. So I can't talk to his psychology, but I think we can all speak to his depravity."

Kirby later apologized, saying, "I didn't mean to get emotional. I apologize for that. I don't want to make this about me. But I've been around the military a long, long time and I've known friends who didn't make it back. It's just hard."

He went on, "It's difficult to look at that and it's hard to square his -- let's just call it what it is, his BS: This is about Nazism in Ukraine, and it's about protecting Russians in Ukraine, and it's about defending Russian national interests when none of them, none of them were threatened by Ukraine. It's hard to square that rhetoric by what he's actually doing inside Ukraine to innocent people. Shot in the back of the head, hands tied behind their backs. Women, pregnant women being killed. Hospitals being bombed. I mean, it's just unconscionable."

Kirby announced at Friday's briefing that the U.S. has started "training with Ukrainian armed forces on key systems at U.S. military installations in Germany."

"These efforts build on the initial artillery training that Ukraine's forces have already received elsewhere, and also includes training on radar systems and armored vehicles that have been recently announced as part of security assistance packages," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin "absolutely shouldn't be" at the G-20 summit, set for November in Bali.

"He has isolated Russia by his own actions and he should continue to be isolated by the international community," Kirby said.

"I can't speak for President Biden or what the schedule might offer for the president, for United States attendance. But it's inappropriate, I think, for the entire international community to keep treating Russia as if things were normal, because it's not," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler

At least one person -- a journalist -- was killed in a rocket attack on a residential building in Kyiv on Thursday evening, ABC News has learned.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Kilitschko said Friday that rescuers had found the body of a victim amid the rubble.

Radio Liberty, a service of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported that one of its employees, Vira Gyrych, was killed when a Russian missile hit her apartment in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday. Her body was found beneath the wreckage Friday morning, according to the report.

Gyrych had worked as a journalist and producer for Radio Liberty's Kyiv bureau since 2018. Prior to that, she worked for leading Ukrainian television channels, according to Radio Liberty.

"The editorial staff of Radio Liberty expresses its condolences to the family of Vira Gyrych and will remember her as a bright and kind person, a true professional," Radio Liberty said in its report.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky also confirmed Gyrych's death in a Twitter post, saying she was a former employee of the Israeli embassy in Kyiv.

Thursday's rocket attack came as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Kyiv. Five Russian missiles flew into the city, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At least 10 people were injured, including four who were hospitalized, according to the Kyiv City Council.