{"id":31477,"date":"2022-09-21T19:28:06","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T19:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/21\/alabama-veterans-captured-while-fighting-in-ukraine-released\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:06:13","slug":"alabama-veterans-captured-while-fighting-in-ukraine-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/09\/21\/alabama-veterans-captured-while-fighting-in-ukraine-released\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama veterans captured while fighting in Ukraine released"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This story has been updated with comments from the families of the American veterans.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BIRMINGHAM, Ala. \u2014 Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\">fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces<\/a> were among 10 prisoners, including five British nationals, released by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia, officials said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/06\/15\/2-us-veterans-a-marine-and-a-soldier-reported-missing-in-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27,<\/a> went missing in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border June 9. Both had traveled to Ukraine on their own and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/06\/16\/us-veterans-missing-in-ukraine-formed-bond-over-background\/\" target=\"_blank\">became friends because both are from Alabama<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2022\/09\/21\/putin-sets-partial-military-call-up-wont-bluff-on-nukes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"178\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22264222692187.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Putin sets partial military call-up, won\u2019t \u2018bluff\u2019 on nukes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">It\u2019s the first call-up in Russia since World War II and is sure to further fuel tensions with the Western backers of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The families announced their release in a joint statement from Dianna Shaw, an aunt of Drueke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey are safely in the custody of the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia and after medical checks and debriefing they will return to the states,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shaw said both men have spoken with relatives and are in \u201cpretty good shape,\u201d according to an official with the U.S. embassy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Saudi embassy released a statement saying it had mediated the release of 10 prisoners from Morocco, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Croatia. Shaw confirmed that Drueke and Huynh were part of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United Kingdom confirmed that five British nationals had been released, and lawmaker Robert Jenrick said one of them was Aiden Aslin, 28, who had been sentenced to death after he was captured in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I am delighted that my constituent, Aiden Aslin, and the other British prisoners of war held captive by the Russian authorities have finally been released and are on their way back to the UK. 1\/3<\/p>&mdash; Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RobertJenrick\/status\/1572633296391245824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 21, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAiden\u2019s return brings to an end months of agonising uncertainty for Aiden\u2019s loving family in Newark who suffered every day of Aiden\u2019s sham trial but never lost hope. As they are united as a family once more, they can finally be at peace,\u201d Jenrick tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">British Prime Minister Liz Truss heralded the news on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families,\u201d she tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moroccan media reported that the released prisoners included Brahim Saadoun, 21, who was sentenced to death in June after being accused of terrorism and trying to overturn the constitutional order. Captured by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine, the court claimed he was a mercenary, while <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-putin-politics-executions-50f449882abf772d49d599479287cb21\" target=\"_blank\">Saadoun\u2019s father said he had enlisted in Ukraine\u2019s regular army<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-veterans-8a2998adb5428530e98c13fc738548c5\" target=\"_blank\">Russian state television<\/a> had previously said Drueke and Huynh were being held by Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The U.S. does not recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk People\u2019s Republic and has no diplomatic relations with them, making it necessary for others to lead efforts to get the men released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drueke joined the Army at age 19 after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and he believed he could help Ukrainian fighters because of his training and experience with weapons, Shaw said previously. Drueke pondered whether to go for a few weeks, she said, and then made up his mind and left in mid-April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Druke\u2019s mother received a call from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning and an embassy worker handed the phone to the man, Shaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe got on the phone and said, \u2018Hi mom, it\u2019s your favorite child,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Huynh moved to north Alabama two years ago from his native California and lives about 120 miles (193 kilometers) from Drueke. Before leaving for Europe, Huynh told his local newspaper, The Decatur Daily, he couldn\u2019t stop thinking about Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI know it wasn\u2019t my problem, but there was that gut feeling that I felt I had to do something,\u201d Huynh told the paper. \u201cTwo weeks after the war began, it kept eating me up inside and it just felt wrong. I was losing sleep. &#8230; All I could think about was the situation in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Huynh told his fiance he wants a meal from McDonald\u2019s and a Pepsi-Cola when he returns home, Shaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two men bonded over their home state and were together when their unit came under heavy fire. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/06\/29\/army-veteran-held-in-ukraine-speaks-to-mom-by-phone\/\" target=\"_blank\">Relatives spoke with Drueke several times by phone<\/a> while the two were being held.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. veterans Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh have been released after about three months in captivity, relatives said Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":63665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["ukraine","flashpoints","veterans","home","left-column","newsletters","disaster"],"primary_category":"ukraine"},"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","veterans","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","disaster"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"5":{"categories":["flashpoints","veterans","home","left-column","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","disaster"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","veterans","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","disaster"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[101,22,8,23,92,25,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2950],"class_list":["post-31477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UQPWE3N4KREOFM45DA7CUJQGSE","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/09\/21\/alabama-veterans-captured-while-fighting-in-ukraine-released\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alabama veterans captured while fighting in Ukraine released - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. veterans Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh have been released after about three months in captivity, relatives said Wednesday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/09\/21\/alabama-veterans-captured-while-fighting-in-ukraine-released\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama veterans captured while fighting in Ukraine released\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. veterans Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh have been released after about three months in captivity, relatives said Wednesday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/09\/21\/alabama-veterans-captured-while-fighting-in-ukraine-released\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-21T19:28:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T21:06:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Reeves, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jay Reeves, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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