Navy SEAL—A Deserter Since 2019—Mysteriously Killed Fighting For Ukraine

Topline

A former Navy SEAL who the U.S. military said deserted in March of 2019 died this week of injuries he suffered during a battle in eastern Ukraine, according to multiple reports, but the circumstances of how he arrived on the frontlines remain unclear.

Family members visit the graves of their loved ones killed during the Russia-Ukraine war at Lychakiv … [+] Cemetery during Orthodox Christmas Eve, in Lviv, Ukraine, on January 6, 2023. (Photo by Artur Widak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Key Facts

Daniel Swift, who served as a Navy special warfare operator first class until 2019, reportedly died Thursday after being injured earlier in the week fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in the city of Bakhmut, which has been the site of intense battles.

Swift reportedly suffered a severe head wound from Russian strikes in the battle that left him in critical condition before his death.

Swift received an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal before being listed an “active deserter” starting on March 11, 2019, according to Time.

A month later, a warrant was issued in San Diego for Swift’s arrest on a false imprisonment charge relating to a divorce, according to Rolling Stone.

Adam Thiemann, a former U.S. Army Ranger who fought alongside Swift in Ukraine, told Rolling Stone the former SEAL arrived in Ukraine without any equipment, saying he “used duct tape to tape armored plates to his chest and back” until he was given proper gear.

The State Department in a statement acknowledged “the recent death of a U.S. citizen fighting in Ukraine,” but did not provide a name, while the Pentagon and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.

Crucial Quote

“He led our team in Crimea, Severodonetsk, and Svyatohirsk, and continued to lead the team after I left,” Thiemann told Rolling Stone of the platoon they served in.

Big Number

7. Swift appears to be at least the seventh American killed in the war in Ukraine.

Key Background

Ukraine has been flooded over the past year with volunteer soldiers from around the world, with Ukrainian officials claiming in the fall that more than 20,000 foreign troops from 52 countries were on the ground fighting for Ukraine. Many are now hunkered down in and around Bakhmut, a city formerly of more than 70,000 that has been decimated by fierce, trench-style warfare in recent months. For both Russia and Ukraine, Bakhmut has become a symbol for the grueling frontline battles that have defined the war, resulting in immense casualty totals and little territorial changes by either side. Russia recently celebrated the claimed capture of a tiny village called Klishchiivka—around six miles south of Bakhmut—as a sign its campaign is making progress.

Tangent

The Wagner Group—a Russian-backed mercenary organization—has been leading the Russian push toward Bakhmut. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday the U.S. will designate the Wagner Group a “transnational criminal organization,” which allows the Treasury Department to freeze the group’s U.S.-based assets and prohibits Americans from financially supporting them. The group’s forces in Ukraine primarily consist of convicted Russian prisoners.