WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden said Friday he has been briefed on the three missing Americans in Ukraine but added the U.S. doesn’t know their whereabouts, urging others not to travel to the country.
“I have been briefed. We don’t know where they are,” Biden told reporters Friday before leaving the White House. “I want to reiterate, Americans should not be going to Ukraine now. I’ll say it again, Americans should not be going to Ukraine now.”
Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, several Americans have gone to the country to join Ukraine’s fight alongside Ukrainian soldiers there.
Alabama residents Alex Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh volunteered to join the fight with Ukraine against Russian forces. However, their families said they have not heard from them since last week and the State Department said Thursday that there were reports of a third American citizen possibly missing.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States has been in contact with the Ukrainian government as they monitor the situation. Price added there has been no confirmation or intelligence that the missing Americans are in Russian custody.
However, a photo emerged on Thursday of Drueke and Huynh in the back of a Russian military truck, suggesting they have been taken into Russian custody but the U.S. nor media outlets have been able to confirm the photo’s date.
After Biden’s remarks Friday morning, videos started to appear on pro-Russian channels and social media showing what looks to be Drueke and Huynh being held in an unknown location.
A State Department spokesperson later said the agency has “seen the photos and videos of these two U.S. citizens reportedly captured by Russia’s military forces in Ukraine.”
WNBA star Brittney Griner has been in a Russian prison since February after she was arrested when cannabis oil was allegedly found in her luggage.
