Two Canadians were killed during an operation to protect a road vital to the supply of Ukrainian troops in the city of Bakhmut, CBC News reports.

Kyle Porter, 27, and Cole Zelenko, 21, fought in the Ukrainian International Legion, which was attached to the 92nd Mechanized Brigade. Both were military personnel in the Canadian army, from which they resigned to go to Ukraine.

Three days before the murder, Porter said the situation there was extremely difficult.

“Let me figure out how I’m going to survive the next few days… (Bahmut) was a ‘people chopper’ the first time (I was there) and I don’t expect it to be any better this time,” the Canadian said

Their commander, a Foreign Legion fighter known as “The Dentist,” said the two Canadians were part of a larger group of soldiers tasked with maintaining the “road of life” in Bakhmut at about 6 p.m. Friday.

According to the commander, the unit was subjected to intense shelling by Russian troops. According to him, Porter, Zelenko and at least three Ukrainian soldiers sought refuge in the bunker, but the bunker was hit directly. They were all killed.

“They both took great pride in what they did. We were like a family. It’s like I’ve lost my brothers,” said the Dentist.

The announcement of the deaths of the two came shortly after it was revealed that American soldier Cooper “Harris” Andrews, a former Marine, also died on the so-called “walk of life” after being hit by a mortar.

Videos have surfaced on social media showing dramatic battles between Ukrainian and Russian soldiers for control of the so-called “road of life” to Bakhmut, the only road that can still supply Kyiv’s troops in the besieged city.