The Russian paramilitary leader Eugene Prigogine today he confirmed that the body of Nicholas Maimer, a retired US Army Special Forces soldier who died in the Battle of Bakhmut.

- Today at 15:00 we handed over the body of the American Nicholas Meimer to the Ukrainian side - Prigozhin said yesterday in an audio message.

Meimer was in a building in Bakhmut that collapsed after being hit by artillery fire, says retired Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn, founder of the non-profit organization AFGFree, with which Meimer worked in Ukraine. Blackburn noted that the Ukrainians who were with Maimer believed he was either trapped in the collapsed building or killed by Russian artillery.

So far, there is no independent confirmation of the details surrounding Maymer's death. In a video shared by Prigogine on social networks, the founder of the mercenary paramilitary formation "Wagner" stands next to two coffins - one covered with an American flag, the other with a Turkish one.

Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that an American citizen was killed in action and two Turkish citizens died under the rubble of a collapsed building in Bakhmut.

The claims could not be independently verified.

Ukraine war latest: https://t.co/IjTDh57wuh pic.twitter.com/NBiFfyyHRV

- Sky News (@SkyNews) May 25, 2023

- The American was killed in the battle in the "nest" (one of the last areas for which fighting is going on in the western part of the city) - says Prigozhin in the video.

He added that the second coffin contained the body of a Turkish citizen who was in Bakhmut with his partner.

- He and his documents were found under the ruins of the building. After the retreat, the Ukrainians blew up the building, and they died under the collapsed building. We didn't manage to get her out, but we got him out and he will return to his homeland - Prigozhin said.