A Russian public television channel broadcast videos on social networks on Friday of two Americans who had gone to fight as volunteers with the Ukrainian forces and had been missing for several days.
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US President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday that he did not know the whereabouts of the two men – two former US servicemen whose relatives had not heard from since last week – adding: “Americans should not go to Ukraine. »
The US State Department has also reported information on the disappearance “in recent weeks” of a third US citizen.
On Friday evening, Russian journalist Roman Kosarev – who works with the Russian public television channel RT – posted a video of Mr. Drueke speaking in front of the camera on Telegram messaging.
“Mom, I just want to tell you that I’m alive and hope to get home as soon as I can,” said Alexander Drueke, in military fatigues and apparently seated in an office.
“Love Diesel for me, I love you,” he adds, concluding his brief video with a wink. According to American media, Diesel is the name of his dog.
RT’s official Telegram channel also broadcast a video of Mr. Huynh, in which he explains that he and Alexander Drueke were engaged “in a fight with Russian troops” near Kharkiv (eastern Ukraine).
“Russian forces have taken over our positions. We had to retreat,” adds Mr. Huynh. After hiding for several hours, the two men surrendered to Russian forces, he said.
The two men were also filmed in other videos broadcast by RT, where they say they are “against the war”, in hesitant Russian.
The circumstances under which the two former servicemen were speaking, and who is holding them, are unclear at this stage.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed on Saturday that he had seen the photos and videos of the two American citizens “who were allegedly captured by Russian military forces in Ukraine”. “We are monitoring the situation closely,” he told AFP.
The relatives of the two Americans had reacted this week in the media.
Drueke’s mother, Lois, told CNN on Thursday that her son had gone to Ukraine after discussing it with her for a month. “I want everyone to know. We don’t want one to come back without the other. They were best friends and we want everyone to remember that there is not just one person there,” she said.
Mr. Huynh’s fiancée, Joy Black, reports in the same interview that she has not heard from him since June 8. “He told me that he loved me very much and that he would be unavailable for two, three days. They were trying not to worry me,” she said. “I just want to see him safe and sound.”
Two Britons and a Moroccan taken prisoner in Ukraine, where they were fighting for kyiv, were sentenced to death on Thursday for mercenary charges by the justice of the separatist authorities in Donetsk, Russian news agencies announced.