The Kremlin’s chief spokesman told NBC News on Monday that two American fighters who went missing in Ukraine, Alex Drueke, 39, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, were “soldiers of fortune,” and had been taken into custody. The spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, also claimed that the two men were not protected by the Geneva Conventions as prisoners of war.
Mr. Peskov said that the men had been involved in shelling and firing on Russian forces and should be “held responsible for the crimes they have committed.” He said their case was being investigated.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department urged Moscow and the authorities in Russian-occupied Ukraine to abide by international law. “We call on the Russian government — as well as its proxies — to live up to their international obligations in their treatment of any individual, including those captured fighting in Ukraine,” the statement said. Read more
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