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If the Interfax report is confirmed, the arrival of U.S.
citizens Andy Huynh and Alexander Drueke in the separatist
region will raise fears that the pair, both from Alabama, could
face charges in the separatist region.
Britons Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin and Morroccan citizen
Brahim Saadoun were sentenced to death by a Donetsk separatist
court earlier this month, after being captured fighting with the
Ukrainian army.
Reuters could not immediately verify the Interfax report on the
location of the Americans. A spokeswoman in Donetsk declined
immediate comment.
The Kremlin said on Monday that the two were mercenaries not
covered by the Geneva convention who should face responsibility
for their actions.
Though Russia does not carry out the death penalty, its proxies
in the self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics do.
Huynh and Drueke arrived in Ukraine in April, according to
family members who spoke to Reuters.
The two men told relatives on June 8 that they were going on a
mission and would be out of contact. Family members said they
later found out that the men had been in Kharkiv region, which
borders Donetsk to the north.
Lois Drueke, mother of Alexander Drueke, said: "Alex did not go
in a military capacity. He went as a civilian with military
training."
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Nick
Macfie)
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