Exclusive: US fighters 'captured' by Russian forces in Ukraine

Robert Drueke and Andy Huynh are both veterans of the US military who travelled to the front line to help in the war effort

Two former US servicemen have been captured during fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine, The Telegraph has been told.

The pair were taken prisoner during a fierce battle outside the north-east city of Kharkiv last week, according to comrades who were fighting alongside them.

Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, had been serving as volunteers with a regular Ukrainian army unit. They are believed to be the first US servicemen to end up as Russian prisoners of war.

They join a growing number of Western military volunteers captured by Russian forces, including at least two Britons.

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner have already been told they face the death penalty as "mercenaries".

The capture of the two Americans will be diplomatically sensitive as the Kremlin may seek to use it as proof that America is becoming directly involved in the war. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is likely to demand significant concessions to release them.

A comrade of the two men, who asked not to be named, told The Telegraph said that they had been captured after running into a much larger Russian force during a battle last Thursday.

"We were out on a mission and the whole thing went absolutely crazy, with bad intel," he said. "We were told the town was clear when it turned out the Russians were already assaulting it.

"They came down the road with two T72 tanks and multiple BMP3s (armoured fighting vehicles) and about 100 infantry. The only thing that was there was our 10-man squad."

The squad set up defensive positions, during which time Mr Drueke and Mr Huynh fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a Russian vehicle, destroying it.

That, however, drew the attention of one of the tanks, which fired a shot in their direction but which is thought to have missed.

Shortly afterward, the tank was crippled by an anti-tank mine that the Ukrainian squad had left in the road. The two Americans then vanished in the fog of battle, and are thought to have been captured by the Russian infantry soldiers.

"We suspect that they were knocked unconscious by either the anti-tank mine, or by the tank shooting at them, because later search missions found not sign of them, nothing," their comrade said.

"Afterwards we sent drones up and had a Ukrainian search team on the ground but we found nothing: if they had been hit by the tank shell there would have been remains of their bodies or equipment at the scene."

He said his suspicions were confirmed later that night when a message appeared on a Russian Telegram channel claiming that two American servicemen had been taken PoW near Kharkiv.

"It is too much of a coincidence for that to have happened otherwise – we are the only Americans fighting in this area."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/06/15/exclusive-first-two-us-fighters-captured-russian-forces-battle/

>>16451139

They are not Ukrainians and therefore not part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They are mercenaries. And they will be treated as such.

>>16450663

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US Quietly Urges Russia Fertilizer Deals to Unlock Grain Trade

US seeks to boost supplies amid sanctions, global food crisis

Kremlin has made export relief a condition in grain talks

The US government is quietly encouraging agricultural and shipping companies to buy and carry more Russian fertilizer, according to people familiar with the efforts, as sanctions fears have led to a sharp drop in supplies, fueling spiraling global food costs.

The effort is part of complex and difficult negotiations underway involving the United Nations to boost deliveries of fertilizer, grain and other farm products from Russia and Ukraine that have been disrupted by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his southern neighbor.

US and European officials have accused the Kremlin of using food as a weapon, preventing Ukraine from exporting. Russia denies that even as it has attacked key ports, blaming the shipment disruptions on sanctions imposed by the US and its allies over the invasion.

The EU and the US have built exemptions into their restrictions on doing business with Russia to allow trade in fertilizer, of which Moscow is a key global supplier. But many shippers, banks and insurers have been staying away from the trade out of fear they could inadvertently fall afoul of the rules. Russian fertilizer exports are down 24% this year. US officials, surprised by the extent of the caution, are in the seemingly paradoxical position of looking for ways to boost them.

The US push underlines the challenge facing Washington and its allies as they seek to increase pressure on Putin over his invasion but also limit the collateral damage to a global economy which is heavily dependent on commodity supplies from Russia ranging from natural gas and oil to fertilizer and grains. Prices for all of those have spiked further since the war started in February, a point Putin regularly makes in his public efforts to undermine support for sanctions.

Washington sent a representative to UN-led talks in Moscow earlier this month on the supply issues, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public. Inadequate fertilizer deliveries this year could also affect next year’s crops.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Kremlin has called on the US provide assurances to buyers and shippers of its fertilizer and grain that they aren’t subject to sanctions, suggesting it’s a condition of any steps to unblock shipments of Ukrainian farm products now.

“For Russia, it’s really important that U.S. authorities send a clear signal that these deals are permitted and in the interest of global food security and they shouldn’t refuse to carry them out,” said Ivan Timofeev, a sanctions specialist at the Kremlin-founded Russian International Affairs Council.

While Russia claims that sanctions fears are also holding back its grain exports, total shipments this season are down only 14%, and wheat exports doubled in May, according to the country’s Grain Union.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-13/us-quietly-urges-russia-fertilizer-deals-to-unlock-grain-trade