Two former members of the U.S. military who were reportedly fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces in the war against Russia have gone missing in eastern Ukraine amid fears they have been captured by Russian troops.
Relatives of U.S. military veterans Andy Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, both from Alabama, said on June 15 that they last heard from the two men one week ago.
They did not return from a mission around the Kharkiv region after fighting in an area that reportedly was hit hard by Russian strikes, the relatives said.
The White House said on June 16 that it's "working very hard to learn more" about the two U.S. citizens, and the U.S. State Department is investigating reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces captured at least two U.S. citizens, a spokesman said.
"As of today, we have not raised this yet with the Russian Federation," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, describing reports about the two men as unconfirmed. "[We] haven't seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody."
Price also said there had been reports of a third American whose whereabouts in Ukraine is unknown.
"Our understanding was that this individual had traveled to Ukraine to take up arms," Price said. The individual has been identified as missing in recent weeks, he added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on June 16 in a televised program that Washington had not contacted Moscow regarding the two U.S. citizens.
If Huynh and Drueke have been captured, they would be the first confirmed U.S. citizens to have been taken as prisoners in Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion launched on February 24.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that if the reports are confirmed, Washington "will do everything we can" to get the two men back.
Drueke's aunt told the AP in an interview that loved ones at home were anxiously awaiting information about their whereabouts.
Dianna Williams said the two could be relying on their experience in the U.S. military as they evade the enemy. She noted that Drueke had extensive training and experience during two tours in Iraq, while Huynh served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Pentagon confirmed the two men had previously served in the U.S. military.
Last week, two Britons, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, and a Moroccan national, Saaudun Brahim, were sentenced to death by separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region for "mercenary activities." All three say they were serving in the Ukrainian military when they were captured by separatists while fighting Russian forces.
Britain, the United Nations, Ukraine, and Germany have condemned the death sentences.
Aslin's family said he and Pinner were living in Ukraine when the war broke out in February and "as members of Ukrainian armed forces, should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war."
The father of Saaudun Brahim said on June 13 that his son also has Ukrainian citizenship and should be treated accordingly.
The European Court of Human Rights on June 16 told Russia to prevent the execution of Saaudun.
Russia "should ensure that the death penalty imposed on the applicant was not carried out," the court said in an emergency ruling following a petition filed this month by a representative of Saaudun.