A U.S. soldier and a Turk apparently died in Bakhmut. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin probably gave the bodies to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange.
Moscow - Two coffins, covered with the flags of the United States and Turkey, and behind them Yevgeny Prigozhin. The head of the mercenary group Wagner, who recently warned of a defeat for Russia, published a video of a prisoner exchange on the online service Telegram. The bodies of an American and a Turk killed in battle were also handed over by the Russian side.
"Probably a dignified death": Prigozhin poses in front of wooden coffin with US flag
"We are returning the body of an American and the body of a Turkish citizen along with prisoners," Prigozhin said, as reported by the Reuters news agency. According to him, the American's name is Nicholas Maimer and he was a former soldier of the US special forces. He was killed in the battles for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and fought in one of the last disputed areas in the west of the city.
At 25 p.m. on May 15, Prigozhin told CNN, his body was handed over to the Ukrainian side. The Coordination Headquarters of Ukraine for the treatment of prisoners of war confirmed this to the news channel.
Yevgeny Prigozhin stands behind two coffins covered with a US and a Turkish flag. © IMAGO / UPI Photo
Prigozhin provoked U.S. with corpse video: Ministry reacted cautiously
Several days earlier, the Wagner boss had shown himself in a video on Telegram while inspecting a corpse. As CNN reported, he examined an American identity document. The US citizen, Prigozhin claimed, died in Bakhmut. Prigozhin said: "We will hand him over to the United States of America, we will put him in a coffin and cover him with the American flag with respect, because he did not die as a grandpa in his bed, but in the war a probably dignified death, right?"
The U.S. State Department then told the broadcaster that the Wagner boss's claim had not yet been verified. The possibilities to check deaths of US citizens in the Ukraine war are "extremely limited". However, the ministry is "aware of the reports" and is looking for "additional information". However, the uncle of the killed US soldier confirmed to the daily newspaper The Idaho Statesman from Boise (USA) that the video would be the body of Nicholas Maimer. (mbr)