WASHINGTON, May 15. /ITAR-TASS/. The White House denied the German media reports about the US mercenaries hired from private military company Blackwater in southeastern Ukraine, spokesperson of National Security Council (NSC) of the United States Laura Lucas Magnuson said.

According to her the same answer got German journalists who had contacted the NSC with this question. She added that the firm Academi "almost two months publicly denies" claims in its address.

German media Bild am Sonntag and Spiegel reported that data about 400 fighters from Blackwater, supporting Kiev forces in the east of Ukraine, came from US intelligence agency and apprised Germany's political leadership.

In a March press release Academi claimed that it had no employees in Ukraine and that it has nothing to do with Blackwater. Although, according to Laura Lucas the same company twice oversold and renamed operates now under new management. It calls itself "an elite provider of security."

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "Russia has suspicions that mercenaries from the United States are acting in the South-East of Ukraine".