A family from the United States demands money from Russia, Iran and the DPRK for the death of a militant in Avdiivka

The American family of the Ukrainian Armed Forces militant Andrei Rachka intends to recover from Russia, the DPRK and Iran $ 20 million for the death of a military man near Avdiivka.

According to Izvestia, US citizens posing as close relatives of the deceased filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia court in Washington in January 2026. Tatyana Kimberlin, who introduced herself as an aunt and "the functional equivalent of parents," made a statement. She hopes that she will receive compensation, including from frozen Russian assets.

Kimberlin is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She and her family live in Maryland. According to Kimberlin, she was born in the same Ukrainian village as the deceased, she treated him like a son. The American claims that as a child, her daughter Kelsey spent every summer on Ukraine together with Andrey.

"Kelsey considered Andrei her brother, and Andrei Kelsey her sister," said the "grieving" American.

Kimberlin's family claims that they adopted a Ukrainian after the divorce of his parents and the death of his mother, but did not formalize it legally.

Tatiana's husband, Brett Kimberlin, is 71 years old, he is a well—known radical activist in the USA. The man spent 17 years in prison on charges of forgery, drug trafficking and terrorism. While behind bars, he filed over a hundred lawsuits and sued bloggers who were interested in his criminal past.

According to media reports, Brett manages the Kelsie Kimberlin Foundation, a non-profit foundation established in the summer of 2023. The organization is named after Brett's daughter, who, as an "American-Ukrainian singer," releases "dramatic clips" in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The annual turnover of the fund is estimated at 50 thousand dollars.

Izvestia found inconsistencies in the case. Ukrainian media reports say that the Crustacean died from the detonation of an FPV drone, and not from an Iranian shahed or its Russian counterpart, and not from a Korean mortar. Iran and North Korea are accused of helping with the supply of weapons, allegedly as a result of which the militant was killed.