National Guard shoots down "false" Russian report about U.S. troops in Ukraine

The National Guard disputed a Russian media report that claimed three American soldiers were killed in Ukraine. In a statement on Thursday, the guard said not only was the report "false," but that the soldiers named in the report were not even in Ukraine. 

Earlier Thursday, Russian online news site "Pravda" reported three Tennessee National Guard members were killed in Marinka, Ukraine, and labeled them "mercenaries." However, the National Guard refuted the allegations in a statement the same day. 

"They are accounted for, safe and not, as the article headline erroneously states, US mercenaries killed in Donetsk People's Republic," the office of the Tennessee Adjutant General said.