White House national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated concerns about Americans going to Ukraine to help in the war.
The warning came after The Telegraph’s exclusive report that two former US servicemen had been captured during fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine.
Relatives of Alabama veterans Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, had been in contact with both US Senate and House offices seeking information about the men’s whereabouts, press aides said.
The White House administration was not able to confirm reports about the missing Americans, but Mr Kirby said: “We’ll do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it.”
He said Ukraine was “not the place for Americans to be travelling”.
US President Joe Biden announced $1 billion worth of new arms for Ukraine as Pentagon officials defended the pace and quality of supplies as meeting Kyiv’s battlefield needs.
Follow the latest updates below.
02:05 AM
‘Ukraine is not the place for Americans’
John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the White House, said on Wednesday that the administration was not able to confirm the reports about missing Americans.
“We’ll do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it,” he said.
However, he reiterated his warnings against Americans going to Ukraine.
“Ukraine is not the place for Americans to be travelling,” he said.
“If you feel passionate about supporting Ukraine, there’s any number of ways to do that that that are safer and just as effective.”
02:02 AM
Two US veterans reported missing in Ukraine
Two US veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia have not been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state’s congressional delegation said on Wednesday.
Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa had been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men’s whereabouts, press aides said.
Rep. Robert Aderholt said Mr Huynh had volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian army against Russia, but relatives had not heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which is near the Russian border.
Mr Huynh and Mr Drueke were together, an aide to Mr Aderholt said: “As you can imagine, his loved ones are very concerned about him.
“My office has placed inquires with both the United States Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying to get any information possible.”
Rep. Terri Sewell said Mr Drueke’s mother reached out to her office earlier this week after she lost contact with her son.
EXCLUSIVE: US fighters ‘captured’ by Russian forces in Ukraine
