Concerns mount that all three men may have been captured by Russian or pro-Russian forces
The reported disappearance of Kurpasi follows the announcement that Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, had gone missing. If confirmed they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began in February. One US citizen has been killed fighting as a volunteer.
He said the US discouraged Americans from travelling to Ukraine, which has endured a nearly four-month war against invading Russian forces. “It is a war zone. It is combat. And if you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, there’s any number of other ways to do that that are safer and just as effective,” Kirby told reporters.
Prisoners of war must be “afforded the treatment and protections commensurate with that status, including humane treatment and fundamental process and fair-trial guarantees”, he said. Bunny Drueke, Alexander Drueke’s mother, told CNN that “they are presumed to be prisoners of war, but that has not been confirmed”. She said the US embassy to Ukraine had not been able to verify whether her son had been captured.