Russian state media have shown two US soldiers who are fighting in the Ukrainian army and who have been captured by troops loyal to Moscow. The circumstances of their imprisonment are still unclear.
The Russian state broadcaster RT has published videos of two missing US citizens in Ukraine. RT propagandist Roman Kosarev published a video on Friday evening in the Telegram messenger service, in which former US soldier Alexander Drueke addressed his mother. RT’s official Telegram channel also published a video interview with US veteran Andy Huynh, who said he and Drueke were “involved in fighting with Russian troops” in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. “The Western media doesn’t tell us how incompetent and corrupt the Ukrainian army is,” he said.
In another video shared by the Kremlin-controlled Izvestia newspaper on its Telegram channel, Huynh claimed that he believed Western “propaganda” about “bad Russians” and that’s why he went to war.
Demonstrated in Russia
Drueke and Huynh are said to have fought alongside the Ukrainian army as volunteers. Huynh said in the video released by RT that he and Drueke retreated during the skirmishes in the Kharkov region and hid for several hours before finally surrendering to the Russian army.
In the video released by Kosarev, Drueke addressed his mother. “Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I’m alive and I hope to be home as soon as possible,” he says. In other videos released by RT, Drueke and Huynh are filmed saying “I am against the war” in broken Russian.
Circumstances of imprisonment unclear
It was initially unclear who was holding the two men. There was also no information about the circumstances under which they were filmed.
A US State Department spokesman said Saturday that US authorities had seen photos and videos of the two US citizens “who were reportedly captured by Russian forces in Ukraine.” The US government is closely monitoring the situation and is thinking of the men’s families.
“Americans shouldn’t go to Ukraine now”
US President Joe Biden appealed to US citizens on Friday not to travel to Ukraine. “Americans shouldn’t go to Ukraine now. I’ll say it again: Americans shouldn’t go to Ukraine.” The White House previously announced that a third US citizen was missing in Ukraine.
The pro-Russian separatists in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic recently sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan prisoner to death in Ukraine.
Source: Stern
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