The American passport of a Clark Joseph Ward has been making waves on social media for a few days. A suspected Russian commentator talks about this “CIA spy” being caught in Ukraine. History is difficult to verify, whether CIA spies would walk around the war zone with American ID cards is doubtful. US authorities have not confirmed the incident, but assume Mr Ward is safe.
There are numerous rumors that many “US military advisers” are active on the territory of Ukraine. They would advise and train the Ukrainian troops. There are said to be numerous foreign forces in the last pockets of resistance in Mariupol, where Russian units have been surrounding several thousand members of the Azov regiment for weeks. This has already been proven with regard to French officers and mercenaries, but so far no Americans have been captured or presented to the press. See also: Why did Macron fire the head of military intelligence? French fallen in Mariupol.
Since April 14 at the latest, pictures of an American passport have been making the rounds. This belongs to a certain Clark Joseph Ward, born December 13, 1987 in Washington. The card was issued in the previous year and is valid until 2031. The commentator explained that it was a US agent who participated in attacks on the civilian population in the Donbass region. At the end, the speaker reveals himself to be a Chechen-Mohammedan fighter on the side of Russia.
There is no evidence that the man depicted in the photo was arrested or, according to some sources, shot. Nevertheless, it would of course be a big issue if even Americans actively participated in combat operations in Ukraine. It is conceivable that only the passport was found.
On April 14, the US State Department responded to a request to this effect. A spokesman named Ned Price said he could not confirm that such a US citizen was detained in Ukraine. He had reason to believe Mr Ward was fine and safe. He does not want to give any further information. Mr Price’s statement is available here as video and transcript.
Other statements come from the Chechen military. Minister Akhmed Dudayev said his soldiers shot dead a US agent in Donbass. – without specifically referencing Ward. Under the Geneva Conventions, foreign combatants are not considered regular soldiers and can also be killed in the form of execution under international law of war.
The internet search for Clark Joseph Ward results in a court decision against an American man of that name who was found guilty of three counts of child molestation in 2010. However, it cannot be assumed that this is the same person.
