In brief remarks to reporters as he departed for a beach weekend in Delaware, Biden has repeatedly said that Americans should not travel to Ukraine at this time.
“We don’t know where they are, but I want to repeat: Americans shouldn’t go to Ukraine right now,” Biden said in response to a question from CNN’s MJ Lee at the White House.
CNN reported Wednesday that Alexander John Robert Drwick, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Tay Ngoc Huen, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, were missing nearly a week ago and there were concerns that the Russians might have They captured. Troops, according to their families and one of their fellow fighters. Druik and Huynh were fighting alongside Ukrainian forces north of Kharkiv.
CNN reported Thursday that a third American identified by the State Department as missing in action in Ukraine is veteran U.S. Marine Grady Corbasi. He served in the United States Marine Corps for 20 years, retiring in November 2021. A Corbasi family friend told CNN that Corbasi chose to volunteer alongside Ukrainian forces, but initially did not envision himself fighting on the front lines of the war.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the department was in contact with the families of the missing Americans, as well as the Ukrainian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Alexander Drake’s mother, Bani Drake, told CNN that the US State Department had told the family of an American missing in Ukraine that there was possible evidence that Drake had been arrested, but they were unable to verify the photo at the time.
Drwick told CNN’s Jake Taber on “The Lead” that her son went to Ukraine to train soldiers there to fight against Russia because he “felt that if Putin wasn’t stopped now, he’d get bolder with each success, and that in the end they might end up on the beaches.” American”.
A photo emerged Thursday of Druik and Huynh in the back of a Russian military truck, apparently confirming they were seized by Russian forces north of Kharkiv last week. CNN was unable to independently verify when the image was taken. A Russian blogger posted the undated photo on Telegram on Thursday.
Price said Thursday that the United States is not in contact with Russia about the American citizens who are reportedly being held because they do not yet have “reasonable reason” to believe the Russians have captured them and also because Russia has not claimed it captured them.
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