American troops Russian media claimed had died in Ukraine are in fact alive and not in the country.
Earlier this week Russian media outlet Pravda reported that three "mercenaries" from the Tennessee National Guard were killed while fighting in Ukraine.
The newspaper identified the Americans by name and gave military ranks for each of them, citing information from pro-Russian militia in Ukraine's Donetsk.
The report even offered an intricate explanation for how the three were identified, using items from a backpack "near the remains of one of the militants" -- including a Tennessee state flag.
The US National Guard has since responded to the claims, saying that "the reporting by Pravda is patently false."
“The three soldiers identified in the article are either current or former members of the Tennessee National Guard,” a spokesperson for the Office of the Tennessee Adjutant General.
“They are accounted for, safe and not, as the article headline erroneously states, US mercenaries killed in Donetsk People’s Republic.”
The National Guard has said that the three US soldiers were the focus of reports because they had been featured on an American military website following a 2018 mission.
Four years ago they were among 200 soldiers deployed to Ukraine as part of a training mission. "
All members of the Tennessee National Guard returned safely to their home state in 2019 after a successful mission, the military organisation claimed.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two of the men were still in the Tennessee National Guard and in Tennessee.
The other man had left the service was but was alive and accounted for -- and not in Ukraine, the official said
Last Sunday Russia attacked the main base where, prior to Joe Biden's pullout, the U.S. military had long trained Ukrainian forces.
It fired air-launched cruise missiles from Russian airspace at the Yavoriv International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security.
The base is located just 15 miles from the Polish border.
Like the other Nato members, the US has offered military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but has not sent soldiers.
It is feared that doing so could trigger a wider conflict or a nuclear weapons response from Russia.
