Fact-checking | Russia's claim of 466 Americans killed in Ukraine war is false

On Tuesday, December 19, the Russian National Defense Council held a meeting in Moscow to discuss the "achievements of the war" in Ukraine, which is approaching its two-year mark. According to the Poligraph website, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his previous claims, such as the West pursuing a "strategy to contain Russia" and not abandoning its "aggressive goals in Ukraine." Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Russian forces had "liberated territory five times larger than Donetsk and Luhansk" and that four new regions had allegedly "voluntarily joined Russia." He spoke of heavy enemy casualties, including what he described as "thousands of foreign mercenaries" and hundreds of Americans, without mentioning Russian military losses, which are reported to exceed 315,000. The Russian Defense Minister also claimed that since the start of the invasion, "over 5,800 foreigners, including 466 Americans," have been killed. However, the claim of 466 American "mercenaries" killed in Ukraine is incorrect. American citizens fighting in Ukraine have mainly registered to serve in the Ukrainian International Legion, which is part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, or in regular army units. Therefore, they are not considered mercenaries under international law and are regarded as volunteers. Although accurate statistics on the casualties of these volunteers are not available, media reports indicate that the Russian Defense Minister has likely exaggerated the number of Americans killed in the Ukraine war by up to ten times. The U.S. State Department has not released a list of American citizens killed in the Ukraine war for various reasons. The Poligraph website noted the challenges in gathering accurate information on this matter, adding that "dozens and hundreds" of American citizens have been killed in the Ukraine war. Some news sources mention this number as being between 30 and 45, which is not precise and may be higher. Nevertheless, many Western media estimate this number to be "dozens." Given these reports, it is unclear how the Russian Ministry of Defense arrived at the figure of 466 American fatalities and no evidence has been provided. It is also unclear why, if Russia's claim is true, the deaths of this number of American citizens in Ukraine have remained unknown and no news has been published about them. Family members and friends of some of these fallen volunteers have spoken to the media, detailing their motivations for fighting against Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. State Department has also confirmed the deaths of these American citizens, which is significantly lower than the 466 mercenaries claimed by Russia. According to Poligraph, it is Russia that hires mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, including in the notorious Wagner Group, paying them double or even more than Russian soldiers. Ukraine reported shooting down three Russian Su-34 fighter jets.