NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three current and former members of the Tennessee National Guard are safe after a Russian media outlet reported they had been killed fighting in Ukraine as mercenaries, the Tennessee National Guard said.
The National Guard called the report "patently false," saying the three men were safe and accounted for.
“The three soldiers identified in the article are either current or former members of the Tennessee National Guard,” according to the Office of the Tennessee Adjutant General. “They are accounted for, safe and not, as the article headline erroneously states, U.S. mercenaries killed in Donetsk People’s Republic.”
A Russian web outlet "Pravda" published a report on Thursday claiming three instructors from the U.S. were killed in the Donetsk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine — calling them "U.S. mercenaries." The report claimed it was able to identify the men from personal items found on-site, including a signed Tennessee state flag.
Maj. Gen. Terry M. "Max" Haston oversaw the entire Tennessee National Guard for almost a decade before retiring in 2019.
"Immediately, the names that they put out, we knew that they were safe and sound and back here and in Tennessee," Haston said.
He said no U.S. military personnel are currently on orders in Ukraine, but said some have been in the past.
"We were there in 2018 and the military post that was rocketed two days ago. That's about 20 kilometers east of the Polish border, that's where we were at," He said.
Pravda posted a picture of the supposed flag to social media alongside a U.S. Air Force battle uniform top with Airman First Class stripes. The three men named in the report were not in the Air Force or enlisted members, but Army National Guard officers.
"Your first thought goes through your mind, 'Is that what you've been saying on the news?'" Haston said.
Dr. Sam Swan used to work for Radio Liberty in Europe. He also conducted media training in both Ukraine and Russia.
"It's dangerous for governments to be involved in determining the content in any kind of media," Swan said.
He studied Russian disinformation for several years and said it can be extremely dangerous, He said it is often used as a military tactic.
"Messages that are designed to deceive the reader, the public," Swan said. "What they're very likely trying to do is create this different image of the U.S. than the reality. They would like to see us as the evildoers, and not them."
The National Guard said it believes the three men were targeted by Russian media to spread false information by pulling from articles and media the military published through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service during a 2018 deployment to Ukraine, which included Tennessee's 278th Armored Calvary Regiment in Knoxville. Those soldiers returned home in 2019.
According to NBC News, Russia on Sunday attacked the main base in Western Ukraine where the U.S. military had trained Ukrainian forces prior to the Russian invasion and Pentagon's order to withdraw troops from the country.
The base, the International Peacekeeping Security Centre in Yavoriv, is located near the Polish border. According to NBC, Russia fired air-launched cruise missiles at it from Russian airspace.