Russia holding two missing American fighters in custody: state media

Two American fighters who went missing while defending Ukraine are apparently alive and in Russian custody, Russian state media reported.

Former US servicemen Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, spoke with the Russian state agency RT Friday from a detention center in a Moscow-controlled section of the Donbas region, the outlet said.

The report hints that Drueke and Huynh may face the death penalty for fighting alongside Ukrainian troops — the same sentence handed down by separatists earlier this month to two Brits and a Moroccan captured by Russian forces.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to pave the way for such a ruling, telling MSNBC that Drueke and Huynh were “soldiers of fortune,” not covered by the protections of international law.