Washington will “do everything” to get them home if the reports prove true, top US official has said
US monitoring media reports that claim that two American nationals were captured in Ukraine as they fought for the Kiev-side. Ned Price, US State Department spokesperson, stated Wednesday that Washington will make every effort to obtain their release if these reports turn out to be true.
Two American veterans, Alexander Drueke & Andy Huynh, were reportedly taken into custody near Kharkov last Thursday. They were described by the British newspaper as the “first Americans to be captured during the war for Ukraine” and that the entire issue was sensitive diplomatically.
Washington has not confirmed or denied that the captured were taken. John Kirby is the ex-Pentagon spokesman and now works as the US National Security Council’s coordinator for Strategic Communications. He has promised to leverage Washington to get their release if confirmed.
“If it’s true, we’ll do everything we can to get them safely back home,”During a White House Press Conference, he spoke out.
The official added that the Biden administration discouraged Americans from going to Ukraine and joining Kiev’s troops.
“It is a war zone,”He stated. “And if you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, there’s any number of other ways to do that that are safer and just as effective.”
According to the Telegraph, the men were reported as having disappeared during fighting in Izbitskoe last Thursday and had been captured. This community can be found less than 10 kilometers away from Russia’s border.
This report is based upon the accounts of another foreign fighter who was part of the Ukrainian army’s same division. According to the source, he claimed that his fellow fighters were not mercenaries. He wanted the truth to be known so the population could understand. “the chances of them being quietly executed by whoever is holding them further down the chain.”This source is believed to have spoken with CNN and other Western media outlets.
Media reports claim that Drueke, a 39 year-old man from Tuscaloosa (Alabama), is Drueke. After 9/11, he joined the US Army and was promoted to staff sergeant during his time in Iraq. According to The Telegraph, his mother said that he had PTSD.
Huynh, a 27 year-old man from Hartselle in Alabama is engaged to Huynh. He had served four years previously with the US Marines, but had never been on combat duty before he went to Ukraine. After getting engaged, he traveled to Europe in March.
Last week, the Russia-allied Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced to death three foreign fighters, including two Britons, who’d been captured during the battle for Mariupol. The republic’s top court ruled that they were mercenaries and thus not granted privileges that regular prisoners of war would enjoy under international law. The sentence was condemned by the West.
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