Russia: US Troops May Have Died in Ukraine Strike

A Russian-aligned lawmaker said U.S. military personnel "may have been killed" in a missile strike in Ukraine.

Mikhail Sheremet, a State Duma deputy from the occupied Crimean region, told RIA Novosti that two Patriot air defense systems had been targeted by the Russian army in the Donetsk region.

Forbes reported Saturday that a Russian surface-to-surface missile crew scored a direct hit on a Ukrainian convoy that included at least two truck-mounted quad-launchers for a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery.

Two of the apparent Patriot launchers exploded, almost certainly killing their crews, Forbes reported.

"During the destruction of the Patriot air defense system, U.S. military members also may have been killed," Sheremet told RIA Novosti, Pravda reported.

Sheremet reportedly added that the Patriot air defense system is difficult to use, and therefore U.S. military specialists may have been supplied to help Ukraine.

A Pentagon spokesperson, though, told Newsweek: "I can confirm no U.S. injuries because we have no U.S. service members in the fight."

Social media users emphasized that two Patriot launchers, which cost $10 million each, and not an entire Patriot System, worth around $400 million, was destroyed.

The report concerning the launchers marked the first time in the war that Russia had been able to hit components of the U.S.-supplied air defense systems, Forbes reported.

Ukraine's defense minister in mid-April said his country has received U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it long craved and which Kyiv hoped would help shield it from Russian strikes during the war.

Patriot missiles can target aircraft, cruise missiles, and shorter-range ballistic missiles fired by Russia.

"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine," Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on X at the time.

Patriot, which stands for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile system that usually includes powerful radar, a control station, a power generator, launch stations, and other support vehicles.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.

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