“We are talking about mercenaries who have threatened the lives of our service personnel,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov. “And not only ours, but also the official staff of the DPR and LPR,” he added, referring to the Russian-controlled self-proclaimed democracies of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russian media have claimed that two of the three missing American volunteers in Ukraine have been arrested and are being held by pro-Russian separatist forces. The Kremlin, however, denied knowing the whereabouts of the two men. Asked if the Americans could be tried in Russian-controlled territory in Donetsk and sentenced to death, Peshkov said: “We can not rule out anything because these are court decisions. We never comment on them and we have no right to interfere in court decisions. ” The two men were arrested by Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk after their arrest last week, according to Russian state media. Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, both from Alabama, were filmed on Russia’s RT channel at a DPR detention center on Friday. The death sentence against the two men follows the death sentences of two Britons and a Moroccan who surrendered in Mariupol after a battle with Ukrainian forces amid speculation that Russia could use the men to negotiate release. of the Russian captives. While Russia has a moratorium on the death penalty, this moratorium does not extend to the GDR, despite being a representative of Moscow. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am The two Americans went missing earlier this month during a battle north of Kharkov. Despite claims by Russia and its allies in Ukraine that the Geneva Conventions do not cover captive foreign fighters – whom it describes as “mercenaries” – all those threatened with the death penalty have served in the Ukrainian armed forces, which means they should be treated as prisoners of war. The Geneva Conventions also prohibit the prosecution of captured fighters for their legal involvement in a conflict contrary to the illegal acts committed as fighters. A State Department spokesman told CNN on Friday that “they have seen the photos and videos of these two U.S. citizens who were allegedly arrested by Russian military forces in Ukraine” and “closely monitored the situation.” “We are in contact with the Ukrainian authorities, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the families themselves. For privacy reasons, we have no further comment on these cases. “ On June 9 – the day the two U.S. volunteers were arrested – a Donetsk court sentenced British citizens Sean Piner and Eden Aslin and Moroccan national Soundun Brahim to death. Concern for the welfare of men has further raised a statement by DPR leader Denis Pushilin that he had no plans to exchange them for Russian prisoners of war. “The exchange of Britons sentenced to death in the GDR is out of the question, there is no reason to pardon them,” Pushilin told the independent Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta last week. A third American missing person in action in Ukraine has been identified as former US Marine veteran Grady Kurpassi, who has not been in contact with his family since late April.
