Tragedy has struck the Jewish community in Ukraine as the son of a leading rabbi was confirmed killed in action against Russian forces.

Anton Samborsky was adopted at the age of 10 by the Alzman family in 2002. After getting married in May and just a week after his daughter was born, Anton was drafted into the army. After a brief training period, Samborsky was deployed to the front lines. He was last heard from on July 17 and was reported missing in action on July 24.

The confirmation of his death on Wednesday comes as a heavy blow to both his family and the wider Jewish community in Ukraine.

According to his father, Rabbi Moshe Alzman, his son’s Hebrew name “Matityahu” has special meaning.

“We gave him the Hebrew name Matisyahu (Moty) in honor of the heroic leader of the Maccabean revolt against the invading empire more than 2200 years ago, the events that formed the basis of the Hanukkah holiday,” Rabbi Moshe Azman wrote on X.

In a statement, Knesset chairman Yuli Edelstein offered his deepest sympathies to the family.

“Like Israel, Ukraine is also in an existential war and like Israel, the Ukrainian people have lost their precious sons in a terrible war that was imposed on them. I pray for times of peace and the return of all our children to safe and prosperous countries.”

In late August, Ukrainian forces counterattacked into Russia’s Kursk region, pushing as far as 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Russian territory. Nearly 200,000 residents from border areas were evacuated in response. Two weeks into the operation, Ukrainian forces had taken control of over 1,200 square kilometers of Russian land, including 93 villages. As a result, both the Kursk and Belgorod regions in Russia declared states of emergency.