According to reports, Russian state television released videos on June 17th of two United States veterans, Alex Drueke and Andy Huynh, who are currently held captive after the two men reportedly ventured off to Ukraine to fight against the Russians.
Drueke and Huynh, both from Alabama, were in Ukraine of their own volition, having volunteered to help the Ukrainians fight Russia during the ongoing conflict. Drueke had previously served in the Army, whereas Huynh had served in the Marines.
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Both of the Americans had gone missing after a group they were attached with came under heavy fire reportedly in the northeastern Kharkiv region on June 9th. Apparently, Drueke and Huynh had ventured off into a wooded area after becoming separated from the group, eventually finding their way into a village where they were approached by Russian soldiers and surrendered.
According to Russian state television, both of the men are being held by Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
In the video of Drueke that was released, he says, “Mom, I just want to let you know that I’m alive, and I hope to be back home as soon as I can be. So, love Diesel for me. Love you.” Diesel is apparently the name of Drueke’s dog.
There are currently disagreements between the U.S. and Russian governments over how individuals like these two veterans should be treated while in captivity. The position of the U.S. is that anyone captured should be treated as though they’re a prisoner of war and thus afforded protections guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions.
However, the Russian government sees the exploits of foreigners meddling in the conflict in this manner completely differently – viewing them not as prisoners of war but rather mercenaries.
Considering the circumstances of these two veterans’ presence in Ukraine, it’s at least understandable that Russia would have a different perspective on their categorization, as the United States is not at war with Russia.
And thus far, things have not turned out too well for foreigners captured in Ukraine under similar circumstances. Earlier in June, two British citizens and one Moroccan were sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in the Donetsk People’s Republic, located in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
The three individuals, identified as Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun, were convicted of violating laws regarding terrorism in the region and attempting to “seize power.” In these cases of those three detainees, who’ve yet to be executed reportedly, the courts saw them as operating as “mercenaries” whose actions caused the “deaths and wounding of civilians.”
As for the two captured U.S. veterans, the Russian government has yet to officially confirm their capture. The U.S. State Department did confirm that they’ll be looking into reports of Americans captured in Russian-held regions of Ukraine but didn’t specifically comment on these two veterans.
Joe Biden says he has been briefed on the matter and was adamant in urging Americans to not venture off to Ukraine to join the fight, saying, “I don’t know where they are, and I want to be clear: Americans should not be going to Ukraine. I’ll say it again, Americans should not be going to Ukraine.”
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