Call of duty

[JABIII]

First two US fighters are captured by Russian soldiers in battle for Kharkiv amid fears they will be handed death sentences like two British soldiers caught by Putin's army

15 June 2022

Two American fighters have been taken as prisoners of war in Ukraine, the first since the conflict began.

Robert Drueke and Andy Huynh were taken prisoner by Russian forces last week on the outskirts of Kharkiv, according to sources cited by The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.




Drueke, 39, and Huynh, 27, are both from Alabama. It's unclear if they were friends before they both traveled voluntarily to Ukraine earlier this year to assist Ukrainian forces as they continue to defend their country against Russian forces.

One of the men's comrades described losing sight of the pair in a battle last week as they defended Kharkiv.

The pair were part of a ten-man squad defending Kharkiv last week when they were ambushed by Russian soldiers, according to one of their comrades who spoke to the Telegraph.

'We were out on a mission and the whole thing went absolutely crazy, with bad intel. We were told the town was clear when it turned out the 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 unnamed fighter said.

Drueke and Huynh disabled a Russian tank with a grenade but were lost in the fog of return fire. By the time it cleared, they had vanished.

Drueke served in the US Army in Iraq whereas Huynh, a former Marine, has never been in active combat before. He rushed to Ukraine in April after watching the invasion from afar, saying before he left that he was 'at peace' with the knowledge he may die in the conflict.

The State Department said on Tuesday it was 'aware' of reports of their capture but a spokesman declined to comment, citing privacy concerns.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark A. Milley did not comment on the capture on Tuesday.

'We suspect that they were knocked unconscious by either the anti-tank mine, or by the tank shooting at them, because later search missions found not sign of them, nothing.

'Afterwards we sent drones up and had a Ukrainian search team on the ground but we found nothing: if they had been hit by the tank shell there would have been remains of their bodies or equipment at the scene,' he said.

Russian forces claimed that night on the app Telegram to have captured two American soldiers.

I know there’s a potential of me dying. I’m willing to get my life or what I believe is right. For what I’ve been taught is right, through really my eyes, Marine Corps, through God, and really just what is right

Drueke's mother in Alabama told the Telegraph she is in contact with the government and hopes they will secure her son's release.

'The US embassy have assured me that they are doing everything they can to find him and that they are searching for him alive, not dead.

'I am doing my best not to fall apart, I am going to stay strong. I am very hopeful that they will keep him to exchange for Russian PoWs,' she said.

The conflict in Ukraine has now raged for over 100 days, with Russian forces now concentrating their offensive on the Donbas region.

Experts believe the war is at a pivotal moment, with Russia advancing further on Ukraine and likely to take hold of the East.

President Zelensky this week begged the West for more weapons to continue his ferocious defense.

President Biden announced an additional $1billion in aid to the Ukrainian government on Wednesday as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin prepared to chair a committee of 50 Western countries in Brussels to calibrate a response.

Biden and Zelensky spoke on the phone beforehand.

On Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley said it was not yet an 'inevitability' that Russia would take hold of Eastern Ukraine.

'There are no inevitabilities in war. War takes many, many turns. So I wouldn’t say it’s an inevitability.'

He conceded that the numbers 'clearly favor the Russians'.

Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said last week that the West had only given the country 10 percent of the weapons and support it needs.

Drueke served in Iraq for the US Army. He is shown in his regalia

Huynh was in the Marines for four years and spent two years on a base in Japan but he had never been in active combat before he joined the effort in Ukraine

Drueke served in Iraq for the US Army. His mother says he suffered PTSD after the war and struggled to find work after leaving the armed forces. Huynh (right) was in the Marines for four years and spent two years on a base in Japan but he had never been in active combat before he joined the effort in Ukraine

This photograph taken on June 11, 2022 shows a Ukrainian BM-21 Grad, a multiple rocket launcher, firing near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. The men were captured in a battle last week, around the same time

This photograph taken on June 11, 2022 shows a Ukrainian BM-21 Grad, a multiple rocket launcher, firing near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. The men were captured in a battle last week, around the same time

Ukrainian artillerymen prepare to fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher near Izyum, south of Kharkiv, on June 11, 2022 amid Russian invasion of Ukrain

Drueke served in Iraq but had struggled to find work or reintegrate into society after returning from war, his mother said.

Huynh served in the Marines for four years, including on a base in Okinawa, Japan, for two years, but he has never been in active combat before. Huynh's family have not yet commented on his capture.

Before he flew to the region, he told a local media outlet in his hometown in Hartselle, Alabama: 'I’ve made peace with the decision.

'I know there’s a potential of me dying. 'I’m willing to get my life or what I believe is right. For what I’ve been taught is right, through really my eyes, Marine Corps, through God, and really just what is right,' he said.

He grew up in California but moved to Alabama after leaving the Marines in order to be closer to his fiancée, Joy Black, according to a local media report. She has not commented on his capture.

Their captured comes after two Brits were taken prisoner by Putin's army. Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin have been handed death sentences by a proxy court in eastern Ukraine.

They were captured in April. Now, the pair have been sentenced to death by firing squad.

British officials say they are doing everything they can to get the pair out of Russian custody before they are slaughtered.

Liz Truss, a favorite target of Russian state media, spoke out last week to condemn the sentences which she said had 'absolutely no legitimacy' while vowing 'to do everything we can to support' the imprisoned pair.

She was mocked on Russian TV by Putin's associates who said the UK has done nothing to try to intervene in their fate.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-Ukraine.html

[Maggie Glover]

While all lives are important, I am holding my breath and hoping that we, as a nation, are not going to burn vast national capital to those that chose to fight for another nation's interest. The US Embassy is already involved and without question, Russia will use these US vets as propaganda that the US is waging further proxy war. $40 Billion in the latest aid to Ukraine, arms shipping every day, and all the while here we have >8% inflation while the Fed plays with its Ouija boards. A gallon of gas is 70% pre-tax of one hour of minimum wage. God's Peace to the families of those that choose to move into harm's way for the greater good, I just hope they do so not thinking that they have the US Dept of State in their hip pocket. MG

[Frank1]

I'm thinking the US needs to cut ties with those 2 and any others that go there to fight russian troops. Those guys werent tourists that got trapped somehow, they went to fight and got in a fight. I'm sorry, I get it but play stupid games win stupid prizes.