The US ambassador to Russia stated that the embassy has not heard from the White House regarding the two Americans being held captive for fighting in Ukraine.
The assertion was made on Tuesday by Anatoly Antonov, the head of the diplomatic mission, in remarks to reporters from the state-run Russian News Agency (TASS).
The ambassador’s remarks refuted statements made by US State Department officials earlier in the day that they had discussed the detained Americans with the Kremlin.
While fighting broke out in Kharkiv on June 11, state-backed forces captured Andy Huynh, 27, and Alex Drueke, 39. Moscow has stated that it cannot guarantee their safety.
The men, who the government views as mercenaries, have recently been seen in videos posted online by state-run media. They are thought to still be alive.
While this is going on, the Pentagon keeps saying that it is doing “everything” it can to bring Drueke and Huynh home safely.
However, according to official media, Antonov claims differently.
“The Embassy did not receive any requests.” According to TASS, the ambassador stated, “I do not confirm receiving a request of this kind from the US side.
We were not contacted by the Embassy,
Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, claimed earlier in the day that the White House had spoken to Moscow about the hostages.
Price told reporters at around 2:30 pm ET, “We have been in touch with Russian authorities regarding U.S. citizens who may have been captured while fighting in Ukraine.”
Additionally, he said, the agency had “been in contact with the families of Americans who have been reported missing in Ukraine, as well as with our Ukrainian partners, the ICRC, other countries, and other international organizations.”
In a statement, 39-year-old Price said, “We have publicly and privately called on the Russian Government and its proxies to live up to their international obligations in their treatment of all individuals, including those captured fighting in Ukraine.”
We anticipate—indeed, international law and the law of war demand—that all individuals taken prisoner on the battlefield will be handled humanely, with respect, and in accordance with the laws of war.
Price added later in the speech that the department had “not received any formal or official response” from the Kremlin regarding the captured couple, who earlier in the year took up arms and travelled to Ukraine to join the war out of fury over the invasion.
According to Price, “We have been in contact with Russian authorities regarding the reports of detained Americans.” We have not heard back in a formal or official manner.
The only response we have seen is what Russian officials have said in public interviews.
When approached, a department spokeswoman refused to further comment on the situation.
Beyond what Ned said, the representative said, “We have nothing to add.”
Both of the men are former US Marines, and Russian officials have stated that they cannot guarantee their safe return.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, claimed that the two were not covered by the Geneva Convention, which forbids the taking of prisoners of war, because they were not members of the recognized Ukrainian army.
He emphasized that “they [the Americans] must be investigated and brought to justice” for their actions.
Peskov would not rule out the prospect that US citizens could be sentenced to capital punishment in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
‘It depends on the inquiry,’ Peskov said, when asked if the two US citizens will be given a death sentence for allegedly fighting against Russian forces.
The couple were arrested on June 11 following a battle in Kharkiv. They were apprehended by Russian fighters after disabling a tank with grenades, Russian state media has said.
‘They are soldiers of fortune. They were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine. They were involved in firing at and shelling of our military personnel. They were endangering their lives,’ Peskov said.
‘Those guys on the battlefield were firing at our military guys. They were endangering their lives. There will be a court, and there will be a court decision.
‘They should be held responsible for those crimes they have committed. Those crimes have to be investigated… The only thing that is clear is that they have committed crimes.
They are not members of the Ukrainian army, he said. They are not subject to the Geneva convention.’
“They ought to be disciplined.”
Peskov, who has been referred to as one of the nation’s leading propagandists, refused to say where the guys were being detained.
Family members revealed last week that the two Americans, who are both from Alabama, traveled to Ukraine to fight as volunteers but went missing earlier in the month.
Drueke, of Hartselle, served in the US Army in Iraq, but Huynh had never engaged in active combat before she flew there to assist after witnessing the war develop from afar.
Later that week, Russian official media aired pictures and footage of the two, who appeared worn out and bruised, making a statement about their opposition to the war.
Alexander Drueke introduced himself and declared, “I oppose war.” He continues, “Ya protiv voyny,” which translates to “I am against war,” in Russian.
After a brief cut, Huynh reiterates, “Ya protiv voyny.”
In a another video, Drueke can be seen telling his mother Bunny that he will return home.
To his mother, Drueke wrote, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m alive and I hope to go back home as soon as I can.” I adore you.
They arrived on the scene accompanied by roughly 100 men, several BMP3 armored battle vehicles, and two T72 tanks. One of their buddies spoke to The Daily Telegraph in an interview on Tuesday, “The only thing that was there was our ten member squad.”
‘We assume that they were knocked unconscious by either the anti-tank mine, or by the tank fire at them, because further search operations discovered not sign of them, nothing.
In the aftermath, he claimed, “we flew drones up and had a Ukrainian search team on the ground, but we found nothing: if they had been hit by the tank round, there would have been remnants of their bodies or equipment at the scene.”
The two were part of a recent influx of bystanders who went to Ukraine to stop the Russian invasion; some of them have since disappeared or were killed by Russian military.
Veteran U.S. Marine Ret. Captain Grady Kurpasi, who traveled to Ukraine in March, is one of the unaccounted for, according to CNN.
Since April, no one has heard from him. No trace of him has been located, increasing worries he may have been slain.
He had been living in Wilmington, North Carolina, before leaving for the eastern European country.
52-year-old New Yorker Stephen Zabielski was killed in the area’s fighting last month.
On May 15, a grandpa from New York died in battle in the Ukrainian hamlet of Dorozhniank.
Young Ukrainian fighters were drawn to the claim made by a Facebook buddy who claimed to have served in the US Army.
He was worried that, given our age, he wouldn’t be welcomed, but his background made him the exception. We both understood we had a responsibility given our values, despite our age.
Steve stayed in Ukraine and sacrificed his life for the country’s independence. A landmine claimed his life. He was the child of Polish-Americans therefore he knew and understood sacrifice.’
His tragedy comes after that of U.S. Marine Corps soldier Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, who was slain in April.
In the ongoing combat, which began its 119th day on Wednesday, the two are the sole confirmed American casualties.