A US volunteer has died while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department confirmed to The National on Friday.
“We can confirm the death of a US citizen in Ukraine. Out of respect for the privacy of the family, we have no further comment at this time,” a State Department representative said.
The identity of the individual was not immediately known.
A Russian official earlier on Friday said that an American had been killed by Russian forces from the Primorsky “Tiger” Detachment, Newsweek reported, citing Mr Kozhemyako's Telegram channel.
Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of Russia's far eastern Primorsky Krai region, did not specify where the American fighter was killed.
The American's death comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine reached the six-month mark, with the conflict locked in a stalemate. The US earlier this week announced plans to send a $3 billion military aid package that would support Ukraine's long-term defensive efforts.
The volunteer fighter is the latest American casualty in the war in Ukraine and follows the deaths of Luke Lucyszyn and Bryan Young last month. Another American, Stephen Zabielski, was killed on May 15 in the village of Dorozhnyanka, according to an obituary from a New York media outlet.
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Newlyweds Maria and David during their wedding ceremony in Oak Park, Illinois. Maria, who asked to be referred to only by her first name over fears for her family's safety, plans to fly to Poland then make her way to the Ukrainian border, ultimately aiming to volunteer to fight for her home country. AP -
Sergey Korenev says goodbye to his two daughters in Portland, Oregon, before travelling to Ukraine to help in the war effort. He has gathered about $50,000 in donated medical aid which he plans to take to Ukraine before joining the fight. Getty Images / AFP -
Sergey Korenev says goodbye to his two daughters. Getty Images / AFP -
A foreign fighter from the UK prepares to depart to the front line in the east of Ukraine. Reuters -
Belarusian volunteers receive military training at the Belarusian Company base in Kyiv, Ukraine. Hundreds of Belarusians have arrived in Ukraine to help the Ukrainian army fight against the Russians. AP -
'Alex' from the UK arrives at the Polish-Ukrainian border looking for transport to Lviv to join the fight. Getty Images -
In a report issued by the Ukrainian military, Ukraine's President Voldymyr Zelenskyy appealed to foreigners to join his army in the fight against Russia. Getty Images -
'Ian' from a town near Liverpool in the UK prepares to enter Ukraine from Poland to join the fight against the Russian army. Getty Images
At least three other Americans have been killed while fighting in Ukraine. The casualties include former US marine Willy Joseph Cancel and Minnesota native James Hill, according to their relatives.
Early in the conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a plea for volunteers from around the world to join the fight against Russia.
Washington has sought to discourage US citizens from joining the fight, warning that the country is not safe.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed in March when his vehicle was struck by incoming fire and days earlier, Brent Renaud, another US journalist and documentarian, was killed in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin.
The Ukraine war - in pictures
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An elderly couple stands near a damaged school in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. EPA -
At least one person was killed after shelling hit the school, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said. EPA -
A woman walks past a destroyed market near a railway station in Donetsk. Reuters -
Municipal workers clean a street in Donetsk. Reuters -
A man passes destroyed buildings in the Ukrainian town of Siversk. AFP -
A destroyed school in Siversk. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by destroyed buildings in Siversk. AFP -
A woman's home is repaired by volunteers after being destroyed by shelling in the village of Zalissya. AFP -
People fill up water canisters in Mykolaiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Grain fields burn on the outskirts of Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
The mother of Ukrainian serviceman Abdulkarim Gulamov, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops in Kherson, attends his funeral in Kyiv. Reuters -
People carry pictures of Mr Gulamov at the funeral. Reuters -
Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in Kharkiv. Reuters -
A man walks in front of a damaged school after a missile strike hit the city of Kramatorsk. EPA -
A cyclist rides past burnt cars after a Russian rocket strike in Kharkiv. AFP -
Rescuers and servicemen work at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike in Kramatorsk. Reuters -
Sasha, 12, a refugee from Ukraine at the humanitarian aid centre set up at the Global Expo exhibition hall in Warsaw, Poland. AFP -
Maksym and Andrii, 11-year-old boys, play with plastic guns at a self-made checkpoint along a motorway in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier nicknamed 'Oakland' guards his position at the front line in the Kharkiv region. AP -
Ukrainians look at destroyed Russian military equipment at an outdoor exhibition near the Church of the Three Saints in Kyiv. AFP -
A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia sits in a makeshift bunker near Avdiivka, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. EPA -
A DPR militia member monitors a section of the road near Avdiivka. EPA -
Ukrainians pass a heavily damaged shopping mall in the city of Kherson. AFP -
The rubble of a house in Moshchun village, about 20 kilometres outside Kyiv. EPA -
A resident helps a firefighter put out a fire after an air strike in the town of Bakhmut, in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk. AFP -
A woman surveys the devastation caused by an air strike in Bakhmut. AFP -
Part of a projectile fire by a rocket launcher lies embedded in a wheat field in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. AFP -
Members of the public look at a Ukrainian tank destroyed in a Russian attack, in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. EPA -
Burnt out cars destroyed in Russian attacks are piled up in Hostomel. EPA -
Jill Biden, US first lady, left, and US President Joe Biden welcome the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to the White House. EPA -
Miami District Two commissioner Ken Russell, left, and Miami police chief Manuel Morales with weapons collected in the Guns 4 Ukraine initiative, at Miami City Hall in Florida. Guns bought back by Miami will be delivered to sister city Irpin, near Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a Grad BM-21 multiple rocket launcher at the front line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A woman walks her dog in front of a block of flats hit by shelling in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. EPA -
A Kramatorsk resident peers out of a window lined with tape to reduce the impact of shattering glass. EPA -
The damaged windows of an apartment, after shells hit a residential area in Kramatorsk. EPA -
Rescuers working on a residential building partially destroyed by missile strike in Bashtanka, Mykolaiv as the Russian war in Ukraine continues. AFP -
An Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle lies by the roadside, having been destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine. AFP
