US Navy Seal deserter killed in Ukraine

At least five Americans have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded

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  A tank, seen left, fires a round in Soledar, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters

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  Tank fire in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

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  Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Kharkiv fireworks storage site after it was struck by a Russian missile. Getty

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  Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, visits his troops on the frontline in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

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  A Ukrainian flag attached to a tank flutters in the wind in Bakhmut. Reuters

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  A specialist from an emergency crew works on a residential building in Donetsk that was damaged in recent shelling. Reuters

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  A missile fragment left by shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk. AP

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  Residents remove debris and carry their belongings out of a building destroyed by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

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  Ukrainian forces fire an anti-aircraft weapon as Russia's attack on the frontline city of Bakhmut continues. Reuters

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  A car drives past a destroyed building purported to have been used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

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  The site of a temporary barracks for Russian soldiers in Makiivka, which was destroyed in a Ukrainian missile attack. Reuters

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  A Ukrainian serviceman carries his injured comrade from the battlefield to a hospital in the Donetsk region. AP

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  Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP

A US Navy Seal was killed this week while fighting in Ukraine, officials confirmed on Friday.

The US Navy said in a statement to ABC News that “a former sailor, Daniel W Swift, was killed in Ukraine on January 18, 2023".

It also noted that “the Navy Absentee Collection and Information Centre confirmed that the sailor was in an active deserter status since March 11, 2019".

“We cannot speculate as to why the former sailor was in Ukraine,” the statement added.

Mr Swift's family confirmed his death to Rolling Stone magazine after Time first reported the news on Friday.

The former Seal was an Oregon native who received medals from his role in US campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan after he enlisted in 2005.

Navy Seals are one of the most highly advanced and intensive units in the US military and Mr Swift reportedly participated in several “special warfare unit” assignments as recently as 2017.

The US State Department did not name Mr Swift to news organisations but confirmed an American death in Ukraine and said it was working with the family.

Mr Swift is the latest American to die in Ukraine, after volunteers from around the world entered the conflict to help Ukrainian troops repel Russia's invasion.

At least five Americans have been killed in the war so far.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is nearing its one-year mark. US officials have said it will be “very difficult” for Ukraine to “militarily eject the Russian forces” from all of its territory this year.