Alex Drueke, left, and Andy Huynh arrive at the TWA Hotel in New York on Friday, September 23, 2022 Andres Kudacki/Associated Press
Alex Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh, veterans from Alabama, went to Ukraine to fight against the Russian invasion.
The men were captured by Russia and held for 104 days before being released last month.
In their most detailed interview, they told the Washington Post that they had been beaten and interrogated.
Two American veterans who fought for Ukraine and were captured by Russian forces described extensive abuse and interrogation during their first in-depth interview since their release last month.
Alex Drueke, 40, and Andy Tai Huynh, 27, told the Washington Post that during their 104 days in detention they suffered physical and mental abuse, and were often denied food or clean water.
The two men, both military veterans from Alabama, were arrested in June while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the east of the country. They were among the foreigners who traveled to Ukraine to help repel the Russian invasion and were the first Americans reported to have been captured. Portal reported that after their arrest, the men were featured in Russian state media, where they allegedly claimed under duress that they had changed their minds about the war.
On September 21, Drueke and Huynh were part of a group of 10 POWs released by Russia as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.
The couple told the Post they had a day of fighting on June 9 during their first mission before being arrested. They said they were “abandoned” after the Ukrainian task force they were with was attacked. They attempted to return to Kharkiv on their own before being captured. They were taken to Russia and held in multiple locations and prisons.
They said they each lost 30 pounds in captivity. Photos from The Post showed the men’s wrists with visible scars they allegedly suffered while in detention.
When Drueke and Huynh were first captured, family members said they went into battle to help resist the invasion. The couple told the Post that despite everything that happened to them, they have no regrets about leaving. Now the two are focused on raising awareness of another imprisoned American veteran, Suedi Murekezi, who has not been released, and of Ukraine’s military needs.
Read the original article on Business Insider