Two US military veterans have been captured by the Russian forces in Kharkiv. Robert Drueke and Andy Huynh were part of a 10-fighter squad that encountered Russian soldiers in Kharkiv last week. Fears are now emerging that they could be sent to Russia and awarded the death penalty similar to two British soldiers Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, who were sentenced to death by Russia last week for participating in the Ukraine war and killing Russian soldiers.
They are the first Americans who have become prisoners of the war in the Ukraine conflict, sources first confirmed to The Daily Telegraph.
First Americans To Become Prisoners of War in Ukraine Conflict
Drueke, 39, has previously served in Iraq in the US Army while Huynh, 27, is a former Marine. Both are linked to Alabama but it's not confirmed whether they are friends and traveled to Ukraine together.
Before Huynh, who came to Ukraine in April, had given an interview before participating in the Ukraine war he gave an interview claiming that he was prepared to die.
Drueke and Huynh were caught by Russians when they disabled a Russian tank with a grenade but were lost in the fog of the return fire and had vanished by the time fog was cleared.
Drueke and Huynh Destroyed A Russian Tank And Vanished
An unnamed fighter of the group told The Telegraph that the 10-member team was out on a mission but the situation changed due to the wrong intel. He revealed that the fighters were told that the town was clear but when they entered they saw that Russians were already assaulting it.
"They came down the road with two T72 tanks and multiple BMP3s (armored fighting vehicles) and about 100 infantry. The only thing that was there was our ten-man squad," the fighter revealed.
Who are Robert Drueke and Andy Huynh?
Drueke is a resident of Tuscaloosa in Alabama and his mother Lois, 68, was informed about his condition.
Claiming that her son suffered from PTSD, Lois stated that Drueke struggled to hold a steady job after returning from the US.
Huynh has also lived in Alabama's Tennessee Valley area but he hails from California.
Joy Black, Huynh's partner, received a call from the comrades who told her that Huynh was gone missing and drone searches didn't find any trace of him.
