Two Americans died in Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, where the war between Kyiv and Moscow forces is being waged, the State Department confirmed on Saturday, without specifying whether it involved many combatants.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, many foreign volunteers, mainly Europeans, have traveled to this country to help the Kyiv forces. Their exact number is difficult to estimate.
“We can confirm the recent death of two American citizens in the Ukrainian region of Donbass”, bordering Russia, a spokesman declared, without specifying the date and circumstances of their death, nor the reasons for their presence in the country.
“We are in contact with the families and providing them with all possible consular assistance,” he added, explaining that the State Department will not provide further details at this time, “out of respect for the families.”
Two former soldiers captured in early June
The United States has already confirmed the deaths of two of its nationals in fighting in Ukraine.
Two former US soldiers were also captured in early June in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin spokesman, asked about the possibility of imposing the death penalty, replied that “this (would depend) on the investigation.”
Russia, which regularly denounces the presence of such fighters on Ukrainian soil, said in mid-June that it had killed nearly 2,000 “foreign mercenaries” since the start of the conflict.
The Donbass Basin has been partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Moscow forces have made progress there in recent weeks.
Source: BFM TV
