Body of US Army vet killed in Ukraine held for war crimes probe
The family of a 24-year-old US Army veteran who was killed while fighting in Ukraine said his remains are being held pending a possible war crimes investigation.
The body of Joshua Jones, who was killed Aug. 26 while fighting for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, had been recovered in a prisoner swap with Russia, according to Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s president’s office.
The remains were expected to be returned to the US, but Jones’ family said their plans to bury him were put on hold due to a possible war crimes probe by Ukraine, NBC News reported.
His mother, Misty Gossett, told the network that the family was told to submit another DNA sample because a second autopsy was required.
“Every day this gets prolonged and we’re just trying to put him to rest,” Gossett told NBC News through tears. “We don’t know anything as far as how much longer it’s going to be, when he’s coming home. The communication is exhausting.”
Kyiv has been investigating the alleged murder, torture and rape of civilians and soldiers at the hands of Russian troops since the invasion began.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General reported that it had documented more than 43,000 cases of war crimes and crimes of aggression, according to NBC News.
The Kremlin has denied the many war crime allegations.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion — a unit composed of non-Ukrainians fighting the Russians — referred questions from NBC News to the Ministry of Defense’s military intelligence service, called GUR, which did not respond to a request for comment.
The US State Department also did not respond to a request for comment by the outlet.
Gossett described her son as a rebellious yet loving child who served in the US Army for three years before deciding to join the fight in Ukraine.
She expressed her frustration about the delay in getting his remains back.
“If your child goes or your spouse goes there and you lose them, what you have to go through is something no one should have to do — on top of losing someone they love,” she told NBC News.
