Two U.S. veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia haven’t been heard from in days and are missing. Members of the state’s congressional delegation say relatives of 27-year-old Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh of Trinity and 39-year-old Alexander Drueke of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with Capitol Hill offices seeking information about the men’s whereabouts. The U.S. State Department says it is looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24.
John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the White House, said Wednesday that the administration wasn’t able to confirm the reports about missing Americans.However, he reiterated his warnings against Americans going to Ukraine.
Huynh's fiancee, Joy Black, posted publicly on Facebook that his family was in contact with the Drueke family and government officials, and that nothing had been confirmed other than that the two were missing. He was commenting on a tweet sent earlier Wednesday by Task Force Baguette, a group of former U.S. and French servicemen, saying that two Americans fighting with them were captured a week ago. The group said Ukrainian intelligence confirmed the information.
He explained that he was studying robotics at Calhoun Community College but couldn’t stop thinking about Russia’s invasion.