Alexander Drueke and Andy Huyn
In Ukraine, Russian soldiers continue to catch mercenaries from different countries. Some people claim that they are very ideological and go to fight in Ukraine to support the country. Others come to the front just to make money on ‘an easy war with the Russians’. For example, two US mercenaries were recently caught.
The names of the prisoners of war are Alexander Drueke and Andy Huyn. They are both natives of the US state of Alabama. Alexander comes from the city of Tuscaloosa, and Andy from the city of Hartsell. The POWs were captured near Kharkiv. Alexander Drueke has military experience, while Andy served 4 years in the Marines. Some sources claim that Andy served 20 years in the U.S. Marines and also participated in a combat campaign in Iraq, but there is no exact data. Also, Alexander is credited with being of Filipino descent and Andy with being of Vietnamese descent, but this is also unconfirmed.
Officially, the U.S. has not acknowledged that the two men are the ones missing. Later in the briefing, the White House commented on the captivity of Alabama Americans in combat in northern Kharkiv region. A spokesman, Mr. Kirby, allegedly learned of the American captivity shortly before the briefing. There was no confirmation from the White House at the time. If true, their own citizens were promised to be extracted and safely returned home. They made an important caveat, though, complaining about the recklessness of the prisoners:
“I think this is a good time to remind you that we strongly discourage Americans from going to Ukraine and participating in hostilities. There’s a war there. There’s fighting there. And if you directly want to help Ukraine, there are plenty of other ways to do it in a much safer and more effective way.”
In the footage, the men say in English and Russian that they are against the war, but it is hard to expect other words from captured mercenaries. They say that they hope to return home. However, the situation with mercenaries is not the same as with prisoners of war.
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