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The United States Department announced on Thursday, June 16 that three of its military veterans fighting alongside Ukrainian forces north of Kharkiv have been missing for nearly a week and there are fears that they may have been captured by Russian forces.
The White House said it is “working very hard” to learn more about unconfirmed allegations of missing or detained Americans in Ukraine.
A group of former US and French servicemen tweeted on Wednesday that two Americans fighting with them had been captured a week ago, according to BBC News.
If the report was confirmed, these would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine captured since the war began in February.
According to US media, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, had travelled from Alabama to join a Ukrainian volunteer unit.
Alabama congressman Robert Aderholt released a statement on Wednesday saying Mr. Huynh, a former US Marine, had “volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian Army in their current war against Russia”.
He added that Mr. Huynh’s family had not been in contact with him since 8 June 2022 when he was in the Kharkiv area.
The state department said it was looking into claims that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured two Americans.
But spokesman Ned Price told BBC News on Thursday the US “has not raised this yet with the Russian Federation” because Washington does not yet have credible reason to believe the Russians have captured the men.
Mr. Drueke’s mother, Bunny, stated that the family has not received confirmation that he has been captured. However, a post by Russian forces on social media claimed that two Americans had been captured on the same day that they went missing.
“As a mother, you want to keep your children safe,” she said. “As an American, I am so darn proud of him for being willing to risk his safety to help democracy around the world.”
Mr Huynh’s fiancée, Joy Black, said her partner “just had such a burden on his heart to go and help these people in need”.
The Kremlin has stated that it is unaware of the captured Americans’ reports. All foreigners fighting alongside Ukraine are considered mercenaries by Russia, who claims they are not protected as fighters under the Geneva Convention.
“Mercenaries are not recognized as fighters under international law,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated in a rare interview with BBC News on Thursday.
The men “had enlisted in the Ukrainian army, and thus are accorded legal combatant protections,” Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger wrote in a tweet.
Because of the confrontation with Russia, the State Department continues to advise Americans against visiting Ukraine.
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