Biden says briefed on US mercenaries 'missing' in Ukraine
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President Joe Biden stresses there shouldn't be Americans in Ukraine.
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Biden says briefed on Americans missing in Ukraine.
President Joe Biden said Friday that he had been briefed on two Americans who had gone missing in Ukraine, and he urged Americans not to travel to the war-torn country.
When asked about the two American volunteer fighters who are believed to have been captured by Russian forces, Biden responded, "I have been briefed."
Biden told reporters that he didn't know where the men were, stressing that "Americans should not be going to Ukraine."
Read next: Ukraine must find a diplomatic solution: US officials
The US State Department urged Russia on Thursday to treat any Americans captured while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops as prisoners of war who ought to be treated humanely.
It also stated that a third American, in addition to the two military veterans who were reportedly captured by Russian forces in a pitched battle last week, was believed to be missing in Ukraine.
According to family members and members of Congress, Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, who were both living in Alabama, lost contact with their relatives while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces near the Russian border.
2 former us servicemen andrew drueke & andy huynh have been captured by russian forces outside of kharkiv
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) June 15, 2022
believed to be the first americans in the ukraine conflict to be taken as pows pic.twitter.com/4TpXDQSNao
Third US fighter goes missing in Ukraine
Earlier today, following the announcement of two US citizens missing in Ukraine, presumably captured by Russian forces, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated that there are "reports of one additional American whose whereabouts are unknown."
On Thursday, Price spoke to the media and clarified that "unfortunately we don't know the full details of that case."
While CNN reported on the identity of the third missing American as being the US Marine veteran Grady Kurpasi, based on information collected from his wife, the US official did not validate the information.
CNN reports that former US Marine, Grady Kurpasi went missing in Kherson region at the end of April.
— AZ OSINT (@AZmilitary1) June 17, 2022
Kurpasi joined the US Marines after the September 11 terrorist attacks and had four deployments during his service, including three to Iraq. pic.twitter.com/ZniH05shQj
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the Solovyov Live show, when asked about the two captured US veterans in specific, “I do not have such information, and I have been checking it every day. I will check it today as well. We disclose to the public all information about the fate of arrested mercenaries or those on trial... I want to reiterate that I will double-check whether there is any additional information on this issue.”
US mercenaries in Ukraine
Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported on March 6 that 3,000 US "volunteers" were to arrive in Ukraine, amid Russia's ongoing military operation in the country.
The agency quoted the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ press service via Telegram as saying that "the volunteers are ready to repel Russia as part of an international battalion."
Among the US volunteers are army veterans "with combat experience gained in Iraq and other hotspots around the world," the agency reported.
