Kyiv: The US Navy confirmed on Friday that a member of the elite SEAL force was killed in eastern Ukraine, but that Navy special warfare operator Daniel Swift was on "active fugitive status".

According to background information from an unnamed US Navy officer, Swift died on January 18 from injuries sustained in combat with Russian forces.

"We can confirm the recent death of an American citizen fighting in Ukraine," the State Department said without naming Swift. "We are in touch with his family and are providing all possible consular support. We have nothing further to say in order to respect the family's privacy at this difficult time."

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According to Time magazine, Swift enlisted in 2005 and received the Medal of Honor for participating in the Global War on Terrorism, as well as for campaigns in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In March 2019, he was listed as absent without leave (AWOL).

US President Joe Biden's administration has officially discouraged Americans from joining Kyiv-built "Foreign Legion" formations. At least eight US citizens have been killed in the fighting in the past year.

Unofficially, US, UK and other NATO special forces have been operating in Ukraine since before the conflict began in February 2022. In April, French media reported the presence of British and American special forces.

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General Robert Magowan, former commandant of the Royal Marines, who has since been promoted to General Staff Duties, confirmed this in December. According to Magowan, the Royal Marines conducted "discreet operations" in a "highly sensitive environment with a high degree of political and military risk".

The existence of the 'Mozart Group', an ostensibly private and crowdfunded organization led by Andrew Milburn, a retired US Marine Corps colonel, was revealed by the British media in August.

Milburn has since inadvertently revealed the Ukrainian military's massive casualties in the Donbass and has had some harsh words for Kyiv's leadership.

Washington says it is not involved in the conflict, despite the fact that it has given Ukraine billions of dollars in financial aid and military supplies and has publicly supported Kyiv "as long as it" does not "defeat" Russia. Has promised.

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Moscow has warned the West that sending weapons and "mercenaries" into Ukraine will only escalate the conflict and increase the likelihood of direct confrontation.