Two Americans die in Ukraine's Donbas war zone

Two Americans have died in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, the US State Department said Saturday, as fighting rages there after Russia focused its firepower on the area months after invading the country.

Ukraine has established an international legion for volunteers with varying degrees of previous military training, although the State Department did not confirm whether the pair were in the country for combat purposes.

"We can confirm the recent deaths of two US citizens in the Donbas region of Ukraine. We are in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance," a State Department spokesperson said.

The State Department said it had no further information "out of respect to the families during this difficult time."

US President Joe Biden and the State Department have warned US citizens against traveling to Ukraine to take part in the conflict.

With many of the foreign fighters sent to the frontlines, there has been a steady trickle of reports of individuals killed, captured or missing.

At least two other Americans have been confirmed to have been killed so far in the invasion, which began in February.

Moscow has said two more Americans, both former servicemen who were taken prisoner in the east of Ukraine in June, could face execution.

Two British men and a Moroccan captured in fighting have been sentenced to death by the Russian proxy authorities in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, a Moscow-controlled swath of eastern Ukraine.