WASHINGTON, July 24. /TASS/: Two Americans, a Canadian and a Swedish citizen who fought in Donbass on the side of Kiev, were killed this week, the Politico newspaper reported on Saturday.
The newspaper cites Ruslan Miroshnichenko, the foreign fighters’ commander, who said on Saturday that "the Americans killed were Luke "Skywalker" Lucyszyn and Bryan Young. He said they were killed alongside Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois of Canada and Edvard Selander Patrignani of Sweden on July 18."
"The men were part of a special operations force within the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Miroshnichenko said. Their unit has been based near Siversk, a town in eastern Donetsk oblast," the newspaper said.
On Friday, a US State Department spokesman confirmed to reporters that two Americans had recently died in the Donbass. The department did not release their names. The US authorities have repeatedly urged Americans to refrain from visiting Ukraine, including from traveling there to participate in hostilities.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation following a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow's plans did not include an occupation of Ukrainian territories. In response, the US, the UK and the European Union along with some other countries imposed sweeping sanctions against Russian individuals and entities. Moreover, the Western countries began funneling weapons and military equipment to Kiev, currently estimated at billions of dollars.
