Russian state TV airs videos of two missing Americans in Ukraine / Photo: ARIS MESSINIS - AFP
-
Howe hails Newcastle's 'ruthless' Isak after VAR drama in Brighton draw
-
Pant woes continue as Lucknow lose to Punjab in IPL
-
'Thunderbolts' strikes big, topping N.America box office
-
Kompany player-led shake-up returns Bayern to Bundesliga summit
-
Leverkusen draw hands Kane's Bayern Bundesliga title
-
Chelsea sink champions Liverpool, Man Utd crash at Brentford
-
Bielle-Biarrey lifts Bordeaux past Toulouse and into Champions Cup final
-
Chelsea beat champions Liverpool to boost top five push
-
Hammers' Potter reveals Paqueta's tears of frustration at Spurs draw
-
Lyon's Champions League hopes hit by loss to Lens
-
Israel vows retaliation against Iran, Yemen's Huthis over airport attack
-
Man Utd 'need to change' after Brentford loss: Amorim
-
China's Zhao dominates Williams 7-1 in first session of World Snooker final
-
Zelensky says does 'not believe' Russian truce promises
-
Bielle-Biarrey double lifts Bordeaux past champions Toulouse and into Champions Cup final
-
Trump says 'I don't know' if must uphold US Constitution as president
-
Brazil police foil Lady Gaga gig bomb plot
-
Godolphin in full bloom as Desert Flower wins 1000 Guineas
-
Almeida wins Tour de Romandie as Evenepoel claims closing time-trial
-
Bolsonaro leaves hospital three weeks after abdominal surgery
-
Man Utd crash at Brentford, Isak rescues Newcastle
-
Romanians vote in tense presidential rerun as far right eyes win
-
Lyon see off Racing to set up Challenge Cup final against Bath
-
Kolkata survive Parag's six-hitting blitz to clinch IPL thriller
-
Israel vows retaliation against Yemen's Huthis over airport attack
-
Mbappe maintains Real Madrid Liga dream in Celta thriller
-
UNESCO says Nicaragua quitting over press prize award
-
Church donation box goes digital in Greece
-
Germans mark liberation of Ravensbrueck Nazi camp
-
Missile hits Israel airport area in Huthi-claimed attack
-
DeChambeau eyes PGA Championship battle after South Korea LIV win
-
Chinese president to visit Russia on May 7-10: Kremlin
-
'We don't care': weddings go on in Pakistan's Kashmir border
-
Missile hits Israel airport area in attack claimed by Yemen's Huthis
-
Mexican mayor arrested in probe of alleged drug cartel ranch: govt source
-
Seven Iranians among eight arrested in UK counterterrorism probes
-
Israel says area of airport hit after Yemen missile launch
-
Romanians return to polls as far right hopes to win presidential rerun
-
4 Iranians among 5 arrested in UK for 'terrorism offences': police
-
'Two million' throng Lady Gaga concert at Rio's Copacabana
-
India-Pakistan gunfire triggers terror of past conflict
-
UK hard right sets sights high after local election triumphs
-
Sexual abuse of nuns: one of the Catholic Church's last taboos
-
West German foothold of far-right AfD shows challenge for Merz
-
Maldives president holds record 15-hour press conference
-
'Accept me': Near Ukraine front, a haven for outcasts
-
Canelo Alvarez unifies super middleweight titles on Saudi Arabia debut
-
Canelo Alvarez unifes super middleweight titles on Saudi Arabia debut
-
US Fed expected to pause cuts again and wait for clarity on tariffs
-
Ex-Liverpool star Firmino 'proud' after more Champions League history
NYSE - LSE
Russian state TV airs videos of two missing Americans in Ukraine
A Russian state TV channel aired videos on social media of two Americans who went missing last week while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army, stating they had been captured by Russian forces.
United States President Joe Biden had said earlier Friday he did not know the whereabouts of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, both US military veterans whose relatives lost contact with the pair.
The missing Americans -- including a third identified as a former US Marines captain -- are believed to be part of an unknown number of mostly military veterans who have joined other foreigners to volunteer alongside Ukrainian troops.
On Friday evening, Russian journalist Roman Kosarev -- who works with state TV RT channel -- posted a video on messaging platform Telegram of Drueke speaking facing the camera.
"Mom, I just want to let you know that I'm alive and I hope to be back home as soon as I can be," said Drueke, who was seated in what appeared to be an office and dressed in military fatigues.
"Love Diesel for me, love you," he said, concluding his brief video with a quick wink. Reports in the US say Diesel was Drueke's dog.
RT's official Telegram channel also posted an interview with Huynh, in which he said the duo had been "engaged in combat with Russian troops" near Ukraine's flashpoint Kharkiv area.
After the pair retreated and hid for hours, they surrendered themselves to Russian troops, Huynh said.
The pair were also filmed in separate RT videos -- directly facing a camera angled from above -- saying "I'm against the war", in poor Russian.
The circumstances under which the two men were speaking were not fully clear, nor who specifically was holding them.
A US State Department spokesperson on Saturday confirmed American authorities had seen the photos and videos of the two US citizens "reportedly captured by Russia's military forces in Ukraine".
"We are closing monitoring the situation and our hearts go out to their families during this difficult time," the spokesperson told AFP.
During a White House briefing on Friday, Biden urged US citizens not to go to Ukraine.
"Americans should not be going to Ukraine now. I'll say it again: Americans should not be going to Ukraine," he said.
The Russian proxy authorities in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, a Moscow-controlled swath of eastern Ukraine, have sentenced to death two British men and a Moroccan captured earlier in fighting.
F.Schneider--AMWN