Yulia Morozova/Reuters
In the video, Prigozhin is shown inspecting a body, and examining what he claims are US identification documents. (File photo)
CNN
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The leader of the Russian private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that a US citizen had died in the embattled Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, in a video posted on the Wagner Telegram group on Tuesday .
A pro-Kremlin military blogger, Alexander Simonov, introduced the video saying “we are advancing on the advanced positions of PMC Wagner in the western region of Artyomovsk,” the Russian name for Bakhmut.
The video was taken at night with the sound of an apparent mortar attack. The soldiers shouted, “In shelter. Mortar attack from the west side. ”
Prigozhin is shown inspecting a body, and his claimed US identification documents.
CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the documents and cannot confirm the nationality of the body shown in the video. CNN is not naming the deceased pending confirmation of his identity.
Prigozhin said, “So we will hand him over to the United States of America, we will put him in a coffin, cover him with the American flag with respect because he did not die in his bed as a grandfather but he died in the war. and probably a worthy one [death]right?”
A soldier said the man returned fire when he died. Prigozhin replied, “He shot back; he died in the war, so we’ll give him his documents tomorrow morning and pack everything up, right?”
The Prigozhin and Wagner group often posts videos for propaganda purposes, and often mixes real footage with propaganda claims. CNN has reached out to the US State Department for comment.
