Academi denies reports of American mercenaries in Ukraine's east

KYIV, May 12 /Ukrinform/. The US private security services company Academi (Blackwater until 2009) denies the involvement of its elite fighters in the operation in eastern Ukraine, refuting reports by the German publication Bild am Sonntag.

Academi Vice President Suzanne Kelly told this to the German newspaper Zeit Online in an interview .

“Academi is not taking part in any operations in Ukraine, and in the future this is not planned," she said.

A reminder that on Sunday, the German edition Bild am Sonntag citing the German intelligence reported that about 400 elite fighters of the American Academi are involved in Kyiv's anti-terrorist operation in the east of Ukraine. "On the Ukrainian army and police side there are 400 fighters from the American private military company Academi,” the article says. According to the publication, the mercenaries run operations near Luhansk.

In turn, the German intelligence agency refused to comment on the reports. The German government has so far provided no comments too.

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