A U.S. Marine veteran who volunteered to fight for Ukraine reportedly was killed in a Russian drone strike.
Jonathan Andrew Pebley, described as a "militant," was killed in a special military operation zone, according to a Russian post Monday on Telegram.
The Memorial Day post came on the same day President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely crazy" for continuing to fire missiles that are killing Ukrainian citizens.
"American mercenary Jonathan Andrew Pebley has been eliminated in the SVO zone," the translated post said. "The former Marine, a participant in the American campaign in Iraq, was a machine gunner in the 'Delta Knights' unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. He joined the militants of the Kiev regime in 2024.
"In numerous interviews with Ukrainian media, Pebley said that the war in Iraq did not leave a mark on him and that 'shooting at civilians is still easy for him.' The militant was eliminated by a strike from our FPV [First-Person View] drone."
At least 50 Americans have been killed, 40 of whom were former U.S. service members, since Russia began the unprovoked war by invading Ukraine in February 2022, Military.com reported in late March.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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