The Kremlin’s spokesman says his son fought in Ukraine.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, stated on Monday that his son had fought in Ukraine, highlighting the Moscow elite’s uneven participation in a battle effort that has thus far value the lives of tens of 1000’s of Russian troopers.

Mr. Peskov’s remarks got here after Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the chief of Russia’s Wagner personal army firm, stated on Saturday that Mr. Peskov’s son had served as an artilleryman along with his mercenary group for six months. In an article printed the subsequent day within the pro-government newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Nikolai Peskov, 33, stated it was his determination to serve.

On Monday, Mr. Peskov, President Vladimir V. Putin’s longest-serving chief spokesman, was requested about his son at a every day press briefing.

“It is true, he did take part in the special military operation,” he advised journalists, utilizing the federal government’s euphemism for the battle in Ukraine. He declined to offer additional particulars.

None of the accounts could possibly be independently verified, and it was not potential to find out whether or not Mr. Prigozhin was declaring a uncommon instance of a rich younger Russian’s army service or was trying a public relations stunt to needle Kremlin insiders.

Mr. Prigozhin, a social media provocateur, has usually criticized the nation’s elite for weak patriotic sentiment. In March, Mr. Prigozhin claimed that the son-in-law of Russia’s protection minister, Sergei Ok. Shoigu, had joined Wagner. It turned out that the fighter he recognized was of no relation to Mr. Shoigu, a frequent goal of Mr. Prigozhin’s criticism.

Some components of Mr. Prigozhin’s account of the youthful Mr. Peskov’s service appeared like trolling.

Mr. Prigozhin stated that in Wagner, Nikolai Peskov had labored loading ammunition on an task that may have positioned him miles behind the entrance line. He additionally stated that Nikolai Peskov stood out from his comrades as a result of he spoke English and “looked too clever.”

Several appearing and former Russian officers have volunteered for the army because the begin of the invasion final 12 months, utilizing their service to bolster their nationalist credentials on social media.

But it has been troublesome to verify particulars of their service, together with whether or not they served in frontline roles.

In 2011, Nikolai Peskov posted images on social media that appeared to point out him collaborating in Russia’s compulsory one-year army service.

Since Mr. Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine final 12 months, the youthful Mr. Peskov has been goaded about additional enlistment. Shortly after Mr. Putin introduced in September that he would mobilize 300,000 males to struggle, opposition activists claiming to be conscription officers prank-called him.

“Obviously, I won’t come,” a person described as Nikolai Peskov advised the prank callers after being requested whether or not he would report back to the conscription workplace the subsequent day. “I’m going to resolve this on a different level.”

But he advised the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that becoming a member of Wagner was his determination, saying that he had acquired a medal “for bravery.”

He didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The New York Times.

Oleg Matsnev and Alina Lobzina contributed analysis.