<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The head of Russia's private Wagner mercenary group on Tuesday said a US volunteer had died fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in the country's east.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a video shared by Russian military bloggers, Yevgeny Prigozhin showed the body of what he said was an American laying in the rubble of a building.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The clip shows the Wagner chief walking with his men at night, and explosions can be heard -- but it is not clear where or when it was filmed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Standing beside the body, which appears to have suffered a stomach wound, Prigozhin said: "He came to meet us. Citizen of the United States of America".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prigozhin shows the camera what appears to be the soldier's identity documents, without giving a full name.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We will return him to the United States. We will put him in a coffin (with) the American flag. With respect, because he didn't die in a grandfather's bed but in the war," the Wagner boss said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prigozhin's paramilitary group is fighting on the front line in the bloody battle for Bakhmut, a flashpoint town in eastern Ukraine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">AFP could not independently verify Prigozhin's claims. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>