<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655315566055,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000165-15c6-d22c-a1ef-97efc26a0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655315566055,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000165-15c6-d22c-a1ef-97efc26a0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55314321", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1030126"} }); ","_id":"00000181-687e-d082-a1ad-7afff5b50000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedA pair of former military personnel from the United States fighting as volunteers in Ukraine have been captured by invading Russian forces, according to new reports.
“We are aware of unconfirmed reports of two U.S. citizens captured in Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson told reporters Wednesday. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with Ukrainian authorities.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s team declined to elaborate on the situation on privacy grounds. The incident reportedly involves a former Army soldier and a former Marine who fought on behalf of Ukraine near Kharkiv last week and stumbled into a larger Russian force after “bad intel” led them to believe that the area was secure.
“We were told the town was clear when it turned out the Russians were already assaulting it,” an anonymous member of their team told the Telegraph. “They came down the road with two T72 tanks and multiple BMP3s (armored fighting vehicles) and about 100 infantry. The only thing that was there was our 10-man squad.”
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT PROSECUTOR VISITS KHARKIV AMID WAR CRIMES REPORTS
The two volunteers, Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, went missing during the fight, but Ukrainian drone surveillance didn’t spot their bodies, and Russian media platforms subsequently began to claim the capture of two Americans. “It is too much of a coincidence for that to have happened otherwise — we are the only Americans fighting in this area,” the source added.
Russian officials so far have refused to treat captured Western volunteers as prisoners of war; a pair of British nationals captured in eastern Ukraine were sentenced to death last week in a decision that gives Moscow new leverage in negotiations with Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
“I can’t go into my discussions with the Ukrainians, but I can assure the families we’re working flat out on this,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Tuesday. “I will do whatever is necessary to secure their release. I’ve assured the families I will do what is most effective to secure their release, and I’m not going to go into our strategy live on air.”
Americans in Ukraine are a priority target for Russian forces, according to Blinken’s team.
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“We also once again reiterate U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of U.S. citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials and that U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options,” the State Department spokesperson said.
