US officials have hit back at a Russian fake media report that claimed three American soldiers had been killed in Ukraine, saying that the men are alive and well back in Tennessee.
Russian state-run newspaper Pravda falsely reported on Thursday that three “US mercenaries” – named as current or former Tennessee National Guard members Captain Michael Hawker, Lieutenant Logan Shrum and Lieutenant Cruz Toblin – had been killed while fighting in Ukraine.
The article, which said the information had come from the pro-Russian militia in the Donetsk region, claimed the men were identified by personal belongings found in a backpack “near the remains of one of the militants”, including a Tennessee state flag.
The US National Guard said in a statement that the news report was “patently false” and that all three National Guard members are “accounted for” and “safe”.
“This afternoon the Russian media outlet “Pravda” falsely reported that three members of the Tennessee National Guard, which it labeled as “mercenaries” were killed while fighting in Ukraine,” said the statement
“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.
“They are accounted for, safe and not, as the article headline erroneously states, US mercenaries killed in Donetsk People’s Republic.”
An anonymous US official told Reuters that two of the men are in Tennessee, where they continue to be members of the Tennessee National Guard.
The third is no longer a Guardsman but is also alive, accounted for and not in Ukraine, the official said.
The National Guard said that they believe the three were “targeted by Russian media” because of photos available online that show US service members on deployment to Ukraine back in 2018.
Members of the Tennessee National Guard’s 278th Armored Cavalry Regimen were among a group of around 200 US troops on a mission, assisting Ukrainian forces with the development of the Yavoriv Combat Training Center.
“All members of the Tennessee National Guard returned safely to their home state in 2019 after a successful mission,” said the National Guard.
The Tennessee National Guard also shared the statement pushing back on the claims in Russian state media and posted images of the Pravda article with “FAKE” plastered across it in red letters.
The Yavoriv Combat Training Center was the target of a series of Russian airstrikes on Sunday which left 35 people dead.
The military training base is just 15 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine and had been used to train Nato troops, including the US military, long before the war.
However, no US troops were present at the time of the attack after President Joe Biden withdrew all US troops from Ukraine ahead of Russia’s invasion.
The president has repeatedly insisted that US troops will not engage in conflict in Ukraine.
