Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyfor the safe return of two Americans captured by Russian troops in Ukraine He promised to fight and praised them as "heroes". ..
Military veterans Alexander Druke (39) and Andy Huin (27)were taken prisoner last week during a battle in a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv in the northeast..
A few days later, the prisoners spoke to the Russian state agency RT from a detention center in the Kremlin-controlled Donbass region of Ukraine, where the most fierce battles of the war took place.
"What can I say? They are heroes and to me they are the same as Ukrainians in that they give them the main thing they had: their lives.
Zelensky did not rule out the possibility that the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskovwould face the death penalty on Monday, but suggested that Dorueke and Huin were killed. I didn't.
"We are confident that we will fight for them and get them back. Of course, they will be in their family. I'll be back, "said Zelensky.
"It is a great honor for me that there are some soldiers in the world who are not afraid and they support us and our sovereignty and independence."
In a comment about Americans, Peskov suggested that international legal protection under the Geneva Convention does not apply because they were "lucky soldiers" and not members of the Ukrainian army. ..
US Army veteran Drueke served in Iraq. His mother told Telegraph that he was suffering from PTSD and that he had a hard time continuing his work before going to Ukraine.
Former Marine Huynh set out to fight in Ukraine in April, according to Alabama ABC-affiliated WAAY.
National Security Council coordinator John Kirby has accused the Kremlin of threatening the death penalty as "horrifying" and "warning."
"We will continue to learn what we can do about this," he said.
