- Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh volunteered to fight in the war.
- Putin does not oppose Ukraine's entry into the EU: "It is not a military organization like NATO"
American soldiers trapped by Russia. / Twitter
Russia has released videos of the two US volunteer soldiers who went missing last week while fighting Kremlin forces in Ukraine.
The footage, shared on Twitter on Friday, shows terrified US Army veteran Alexander Drueke, 39, and Marine Andy Huynh, 27, in custody as they identify themselves and are forced to speak Russian.
"My name is Alexander Drueke, I am against war," Drueke said. Then he says the same idea in Russian: "Ya protiv voyny." "Ya protiv voyny," Huynh repeats in his video.
Another video shows Drueke addressing his mother, Bunny, as he promises to come home. "Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I am alive and hope to be back home as soon as I can," Drueke said. "I love you," he adds.
🇷🇺🇺🇦🇺🇸🚨| Russian forces released footage of 2 American volunteers captured recently around Kharkiv.
— Casus Belli 🛰 (@casusbellintel) June 17, 2022
U.S Intelligence is currently investigating into whether a third American was also taken prisoner
Here’s Alexander Drueke pic.twitter.com/txYv6o4Rnn
The videos come a day after a photo emerged of the couple in the back of a Russian military truck with their hands behind their backs, suggesting they were tied up when captured by the Russians who ambushed their platoon on the 9th. of June.
The US State Department said it was working to verify the photo that was posted by a Russian blogger on the Telegram messaging app, CNN reported.
The image and video began circulating as the department verified that a third American, Marine veteran Grady Kurpasi, has been missing since April.
Drueke, who turns 40 this month, is a former US Army staff sergeant who served twice in Iraq and volunteered in the Ukrainian Army.
Huynh, a Marine for four years, had never seen active combat before flying to Ukraine in April as a volunteer. Both American fighters are from Alabama, but it is unclear if they knew each other before venturing into the war zone.
The couple was part of a 10-man squad defending Kharkiv last week when they were ambushed by Russian soldiers, according to one of their comrades.
Drueke and Huynh disabled a Russian tank with a grenade but were lost in the haze of return fire. When it cleared up, they had disappeared.