‘We Thought They Were Dead. They Never Made It Back’
DNIPRO, Ukraine – Two American volunteers fighting in Ukraine appear to have been captured by Russia last week, multiple sources tell Rolling Stone. Both men are U.S. military veterans and volunteered to fight with Ukraine’s International Territorial Defense Force, or foreign legion, according to the sources.
A foreign volunteer serving in the unit the two Americans were accompanying provided specific details about the incident that led to their capture during a battle near Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, on June 9th. The volunteer spoke to Rolling Stone on condition that his name and nationality not be revealed. “Our team was isolated and ended up against artillery, tanks, and BMPs [armored vehicles],” the foreign fighter says.
One part of the team engaged a BMP with an RPG-22 – a light anti-armor rocket launcher – in an effort to slow the Russian advance. But the tank following behind it fired on the Americans’ position, the source tells Rolling Stone.
“We thought they were dead,” the volunteer recalls. “Our team broke contact before we could be overrun. They [the two Americans] never made it back to Ukrainian lines.”
