Two US military veterans who went missing three months ago while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces were among 10 prisoners, including five Britons, freed by Russian-backed separatists as part of a Saudi-brokered prisoner swap, officials said on Wednesday. .
Alex Drueke, 40, and Andy Huynh, 27, went missing in the Jharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border on June 9. They had each traveled to the Ukraine on their own and became friends because they are both from Alabama.
The Americans were released along with eight other foreign nationals held by Russia or Russian-backed forces. Moscow also agreed to release 215 Ukrainians, including three pregnant women, and more than 100 fighters from the Azov Regiment, which mounted a fierce but ultimately unsuccessful resistance in the strategic southern city of Mariupol, said Andriy Yermak, one of the top advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr. Zelensky, in Telegram.
In exchange, Ukraine released Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian opposition politician, and 55 Russian fighters, Zelensky’s office said. Medvedchuk is considered a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the godfather of Medvedchuk’s daughter. He was captured in April.
The Russian government did not immediately recognize the deal.
The exchange was first revealed hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered the mobilization of 300,000 military reservists to shore up the Kremlin’s staggering battlefield losses over the past seven months.
Officials at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia called the families of the Americans Wednesday morning, said Dianna Shaw, Drueke’s aunt. Drueke’s mother, Lois Drueke, spoke with him for about 10 minutes and said her son appeared to be in good condition, Shaw said, noting that Drueke and Huynh were expected to receive medical tests later that day.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States “appreciates Ukraine’s inclusion of all prisoners of war, regardless of nationality, in its negotiations, and we hope that these American citizens will be reunited with their families.” Blinken also thanked “our Saudi partners for helping spearhead this humanitarian initiative.”
The Saudi government said in a statement that the other released prisoners were from Britain, Morocco, Sweden and Croatia. Several had been sentenced to death.
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