US citizen killed in Ukraine, Wagner Group chief says

American is believed to be a retired Army Green Beret who had been training civilian volunteers to defend Ukraine

A video posted to Telegram appears to show Yevgeny Prigozhin, centre, surveying the body of an American whom the Wagner chief says was killed near Bakhmut, Ukraine. AFP

A US citizen has been killed in eastern Ukraine, the head of Russia's Wagner Group has said.

A video posted to Telegram appears to show Yevgeny Prigozhin – whose paramilitary organisation has been supporting Russian troops in Ukraine – surveying the body of an American whom the Wagner chief says was killed near Bakhmut, CNN first reported on Tuesday.

According to The Idaho Statesman, the man is believed to be Nick Maimer, a retired Army Green Beret who had been training civilian volunteers to defend Ukraine over the past year.

The paper said Mr Maimer’s uncle, Paul Maimer, had been able to identify the body in the video.

“He never let anything in front of him stop his goals,” he told the Statesman.

“He persevered through a lot in his life. I had the utmost respect for him.”

Paul Maimer said that his nephew had travelled to Ukraine for “humanitarian” reasons.

The US State Department said it was “aware” of reports that an American had been killed, but that it could not confirm the death.

“Our ability to verify reports of deaths of US citizens in Ukraine is incredibly limited,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday.

Mr Patel went on to reiterate that US citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the continuing conflict.