{"id":93262,"date":"2022-06-15T23:41:57","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T23:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/06\/15\/2-us-veterans-a-marine-and-a-soldier-reported-missing-in-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:46:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:46:01","slug":"2-us-veterans-a-marine-and-a-soldier-reported-missing-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/06\/15\/2-us-veterans-a-marine-and-a-soldier-reported-missing-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"2 US veterans, a Marine and a soldier, reported missing in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. \u2014 Two U.S. veterans from Alabama<\/a> who were in Ukraine assisting in the war<\/a> against Russia haven\u2019t been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state\u2019s congressional delegation said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men\u2019s whereabouts, press aides said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This photo taken April 6, 2022, in Hartselle, Ala., shows U.S. Marine veteran Andy Tai Huynh, who decided to fight with Ukraine in the war against Russia. Huyhn and another veteran from Alabama haven’t been heard from in days according to relatives and are considering missing. (Jeronimo Nisa\/The Decatur Daily via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Robert Aderholt said Huynh had volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian army against Russia, but relatives haven\u2019t heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which is near the Russian border. Huynh and Drueke were together, an aide to Aderholt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you can imagine, his loved ones are very concerned about him,\u201d Aderholt said in a statement. \u201cMy office has placed inquires with both the United States Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying to get any information possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Terri Sewell said Drueke\u2019s mother reached out to her office earlier this week after she lost contact with her son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drueke is an Army veteran who served in Iraq, his mother Lois told The Telegraph in London<\/a>. She also told The Telegraph that Drueke worked as a top gunner in escort convoys through Baghdad \u2014 a job she said caused him to suffer from PTSD, which made it difficult for him to find work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report in The Telegraph, his mother said Drueke saw an opportunity to put his military skills to use when Putin\u2019s forces invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with Ukrainian authorities,\u201d the department said in a statement emailed to reporters. It declined further comment, citing privacy considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the White House, said Wednesday that the administration wasn\u2019t able to confirm the reports about missing Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he reiterated his warnings against Americans going to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUkraine is not the place for Americans to be traveling,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, there\u2019s any number of ways to do that that that are safer and just as effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t