State Dept confirms death of US citizen in Ukraine, condemns strikes
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Ukrainians conducting search and rescue work in the rubble of a residential building, following a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on June 17.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – The US condemns an attack overnight on Kyiv, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said on June 17, confirming the death of a US citizen in Ukraine.
“We are aware of last night’s attack on Kyiv, which resulted in numerous casualties, including the tragic death of a US citizen. We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected,” Ms Bruce told a news briefing.
She declined to give further details out of respect for the family.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said early on June 18 that a US citizen had died during an overnight air attack on the city, writing on the Telegram messaging app that the 62-year-old American was pronounced dead by doctors in the city. He gave no other details.
Russia flattened a section of an apartment block in Kyiv on June 17, its deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital in 2025, as a huge barrage of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles killed at least 16 people and wounded 134.
Ukrainian officials declared a day of mourning on June 18 for victims of what President Volodymyr Zelensky described as one of the most horrific attacks on the capital during the war.
Russian troops are pressing on with a grinding advance in eastern Ukraine and have opened a new front in the Sumy region in the north-east, despite calls for a ceasefire from US President Donald Trump, whose efforts to bring an end to the war have faltered. REUTERS
