US fighters captured in Ukraine branded as 'mercenaries' by Kremlin

[Eugene]

Also: Two detained Americans endangered Russian servicemen, Kremlin says (Reuters)

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Source: The Telegraph

US fighters captured in Ukraine branded as ‘mercenaries’ by Kremlin

Colin Freeman
Mon, June 20, 2022, 4:08 PM·3 min read

Russia labelled the two ex-US servicemen captured in Ukraine as "mercenaries" on Monday, as it commented on their detainment for the first time.

The Kremlin said Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, engaged in illegal activities and should take responsibility for their "crimes", Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

Mr Drueke and Mr Huynh were fighting as volunteers with Ukrainian forces when they were captured during fighting near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv on June 9.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, was also quoted as saying that the detained men were not covered by the Geneva convention as they were not regular troops.

-snip-

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/us-fighters-captured-ukraine-accept-112531372.html

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Source: Reuters

Two detained Americans endangered Russian servicemen, Kremlin says

Mon, June 20, 2022, 2:23 PM

(Reuters) - Two Americans detained in Ukraine while fighting on the Ukrainian side of the war were mercenaries who endangered the lives of Russian servicemen and should face responsibility for their actions, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, interviewed by the U.S. television network NBC news, also said U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, held in Russia for more than two months, was guilty of drug offences and not a hostage.

Peskov's comments were the first formal acknowledgment that the two men, identified in U.S. reports as Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, were being held and under investigation.

"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.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-says-american-basketball-player-182315040.html

[Igel]

1. Excuses don't matter.

They'll be turned over to the LNR or DNR, non-signatories, who'll follow both orders and their own proclivities, providing Putin deniability. After all, they were probably nabbed on the territory of the "independent" DNR or LNR (which Russians are conquering and subduing for their vassal states for the first time).

[Arazi]

2. Yup. Prepare for these two to be publicly executed

The Azovstol fighters deaths will be just as grim I’m afraid

[NutmegYankee]

3. We shouldn't accept that.

They are US citizens serving within the Geneva Convention rules in a friendly countries armed forces. If the Russian states murder them, we should declare those states terrorist entities and fuck them up. If it starts WWIII, so be it. Putin is the new Hitler.

[Eugene]

4. Russia can't guarantee that American vets captured in Ukraine won't face the death penalty

Source: NBC News

Russia can't guarantee that American vets captured in Ukraine won’t face the death penalty

June 20, 2022, 3:44 PM EDT
By Yuliya Talmazan

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman wouldn’t guarantee that two U.S. military veterans captured in Ukraine won’t face the death penalty in an exclusive interview Monday.

“It depends on the investigation,” Dmitry Peskov told NBC News senior international correspondent Keir Simmons when he was asked whether Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh would “face the same fate” as two British citizens and a Moroccan who were sentenced to death by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine this month.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraineveterans-death-penalty-alexander-drueke-and-andy-huynh-rcna34372