Two Americans have been killed while fighting in Ukraine, the US State Department has confirmed.
The department didn’t reveal the identities of the US citizens fighting Russian forces but told The Daily Beast that they are in contact with their families.
No additional details on the deceased Americans were available as of Wednesday afternoon.
Military bloggers supporting Russia claimed on Wednesday in mocking tones that a US “mercenary” had recently been killed in the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
“We can confirm the death of a US citizen in Ukraine. We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance,” a spokesperson for the State Department told The Daily Beast when asked about the individual mentioned by the bloggers.
“Out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add,” the spokesperson added.
The Ukrainian military offers contracts to foreigners and they are seen as the same as Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield.
The state department confirmed the death of a second American in a statement to The Daily Beast but didn’t identify the individual.
“When a US citizen dies overseas, including in Ukraine, the Department of State supports the legal representative and family of the deceased in numerous ways, including by providing information on the disposition of remains and estates and issuing a consular report of death,” a spokesperson told the outlet.
“The US government takes its role in such a situation very seriously, providing all appropriate assistance through the legal representative, next of kin, or their designee,” the spokesperson added.
In January, the Associated Press reported that a former Navy SEAL who went AWOL in 2019 had been killed in Ukraine, according to US officials.
A 1st class petty officer, identified by the AP as Daniel Swift, was injured in Dnipro and later died, an official said.
The Navy said he left his post in San Diego in March 2019 and that “we cannot speculate as to why the former Sailor was in Ukraine”.
The AP reported at the time that Mr Swift was the sixth American to die while fighting in Ukraine, according to statements from the State Department and family reports.
The US government has urged Americans not to travel to Ukraine to fight because of worries that they may be taken hostage by Russian forces.
During the first few weeks of the war, at least 6,000 people reached out to the Ukrainian embassy in Washington, DC to ask about how to volunteer for the war effort.
Last year, the Ukrainian military attache said that half of the possible volunteers were declined because they didn’t have enough military experience, they had a criminal record, or they were not fit to serve in other ways.
