Two Americans Captured Fighting For Ukraine Dodge Russian Firing Squad

Published: Saturday, September 24th, 2022 @ 11:01 am
By: Daily Wire ( More Entries )

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Greg Wilson.

    Two U.S. veterans from Alabama branded "soldiers of fortune" by Moscow after being captured fighting for Ukraine have been spared their date with a firing squad after a Saudi-brokered prisoner swap.

    Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, who were captured in June while defending Kharkiv, were at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia after being freed in the exchange, a representative of their families told Reuters Wednesday.

    "We are thrilled to announce that Alex and Andy are free," the representative said in a statement. "We deeply appreciate everyone's prayers and especially the close communication and support of our elected officials, Ukrainian Ambassador Markarova, and our members of the US embassies in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Department of State."

    The swap was part of a deal that also included five British nationals, one Moroccan, one Swede, and one Croatian. It was mediated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi foreign ministry said. Ukrainian officials released an unknown number of Russian captives as their part of the deal.

    Drueke and Huynh were the first known U.S. citizens to be captured by Russian forces. Huynh's fiancé, Joy Black, told Reuters at the time the men signed up to fight after seeing television footage of the Russian invasion, which began February 24.

    Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, and Huynh, of Hartselle, who both served in the U.S. military, did not know each other before joining the fight. They were captured in a village near Kharkiv, Military.com reported in July.

    "A week ago, our team ended up isolated in the middle of a Russian offensive," the men's unit later posted in a June 15 tweet that announced their capture.

    After they were taken prisoner, Drueke and Huynh were held in the Donetsk People's Republic, a region in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists.

    Russian state TV aired interviews with the men in which they sympathized with Russia, but their families said they were under obvious duress.

    "My name is Alexander Drueke, I am against war," Drueke said in a video interview that Russia tweeted. "Ya protiv voyny," he adds, Russian for "I am against war."

    Russia said shortly after their capture that they would face a firing squad, because they were considered "soldiers of fortune," the Daily Mail reported.

Go Back

Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias

Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published )

Enter Your Comment ( text only please )

Login to Leave a Comment

Conservatives List Eight Policies To Restart The Economy Under A Republican Congress Daily Wire, Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Andrew Cuomo Trashes ‘Political Friends’ Pelosi And Biden Who ‘Fell Like Dominoes’ When Things Got Tough

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Key UK local elections today, anti-immigration Reform Party expected to do well

Labour likely to be crushed

Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2026 @ 7:43 am By: John Steed

FBI raids office of Democrat VA Senate President Pro Tem in major corruption probe

search warrants approved by federal judge

Published: Wednesday, May 6th, 2026 @ 1:14 pm By: John Steed

RNC Statement on Roy Cooper in Greensboro

If you are covering Roy Cooper in Greensboro today, please consider the following statement from the Republican National Committee:

Published: Wednesday, May 6th, 2026 @ 11:14 am By: Kevin Smith

GOP voters in Indiana oust 7 state senate RINOs and replace with Trunp backed conservatives

betrayed GOP on congressional redistricting

Published: Wednesday, May 6th, 2026 @ 9:02 am By: John Steed

Cooper released 3,500 “hardened criminals out of the NC prisons

Roy Cooper is “pro-crime”

Published: Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 @ 3:59 pm By: Countrygirl1411

Alberta independence from Canada petition submitted with almost 2X number needed

referendum in October - will it become US 51st state?

Published: Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 @ 2:57 pm By: John Steed

Another de-transitioner wins court settlement for trans surgery genital mutilation

girl was talked into removing her healthy breasts

Published: Monday, May 4th, 2026 @ 7:48 pm By: John Steed

Dominican Republic has mass deportation of Haitian migrants, while Obama judges stop it here

Obama and Biden judges abuse power for political reasons to try to stop Haitian deportations

Published: Monday, May 4th, 2026 @ 10:18 am By: John Steed

Henry Hinton: "NCAE teachers union rally in Raleigh was like a communist / left wing rally".

teachers union rally held on major socialist / communist May Day holiday

Published: Monday, May 4th, 2026 @ 9:03 am By: John Steed

Democrat federal candidates make threats on President Trump's life, one arrested

Democrats foment climate of violence against Trump and GOP

Published: Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 @ 5:19 pm By: John Steed

new poll: 60% of French people believe native population being replaced by 3rd world migrants

66% say it is a bad thing, 9% a good thing

Published: Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 @ 9:44 am By: John Steed

14,000 food stamps ("SNAP") users were driving luxury cars in just ONE STATE,

"This stops NOW: - Trump Ag Secretary Rollins

Published: Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 @ 9:01 am By: John Steed

Hollywood Still Blacklists Conservatives — Now They Don’t Even Hide It

Cheryl Hines. Dennis Quaid. Nicki Minaj. All became associated with the Trump administration. What happened next?

Published: Friday, May 1st, 2026 @ 6:20 pm By: Daily Wire

NC federal grand jury indicts Comey on charges he threatened Trump

A federal grand jury in North Carolina has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two charges related to making threats against President Donald Trump.

Published: Friday, May 1st, 2026 @ 6:20 pm By: Carolina Journal

The Abortion Industry Simply Changed Tactics. Now Congress Must Act.

Their goal was simple: to put a Planned Parenthood in every mailbox in America.

Published: Friday, May 1st, 2026 @ 6:20 pm By: Daily Wire

Trump Admin Shuts Down Sham Charities Caught Bankrolling Hamas

Treasury officials allege these groups pose as humanitarian entities while covertly siphoning donations to Hamas.

Published: Friday, May 1st, 2026 @ 6:20 pm By: Daily Wire

51 Prisoners To Be Freed As Cuba Shows Cracks Under Trump Pressure

President Donald Trump has publicly floated regime change and other aggressive actions toward Cuba.

Published: Friday, May 1st, 2026 @ 6:20 pm By: Daily Wire

‘Andre the Giant’ marker puts smalltown Ellerbe into spotlight

With a new roadside plaque unveiled in Ellerbe on April 23, legendary wrestler and local resident André René Roussimoff is finally getting the formal recognition fans believe he deserves.

Published: Friday, May 1st, 2026 @ 6:19 pm By: Carolina Journal

Our Members

ENCN Sign Up

BCN Home

Beaufort Observer

Portfolios

Current Events: A Historical Perspective

Current Weather

Latest Comments

Latest Polls

Featured Entries

Latest Entries

Two Americans Captured Fighting For Ukraine Dodge Russian Firing Squad | Eastern NC Now

Two Americans Captured Fighting For Ukraine Dodge Russian Firing Squad

Leave a Guest Comment