@@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ - +Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk in the [https://www.fool.com/search/solr.aspx?q=eastern%20Ukrainian eastern Ukrainian] region of Donbas on Friday, as the Russian-Ukrainian war enters its 114th day<br> <br>A [https://dict.leo.org/?search=Russian Russian] state TV channel aired videos on social media of two Americans who went missing last week while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army, stating they had been captured by Russian forces.<br> <br>United States President Joe Biden had said earlier Friday he did not know the whereabouts of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, both US [https://www.newsweek.com/search/site/military%20veterans military veterans] whose relatives lost contact with the pair.<br> <br>The missing Americans -- including a third identified as a former US Marines captain -- are believed to be part of an unknown number of mostly military veterans who have joined other foreigners to volunteer alongside Ukrainian troops.<br> <br>On Friday evening, Russian journalist Roman Kosarev -- who works with state TV RT [https://www.wonderhowto.com/search/channel%20--/ channel --] posted a video on messaging platform Telegram of Drueke speaking facing the camera.<br> <br>"Mom, I just want to let you know that I'm alive and I hope to be back home as soon as I can be," said Drueke, who was seated in what appeared to be an office and dressed in [https://www.brandsreviews.com/search?keyword=military%20fatigues military fatigues].<br> <br>"Love Diesel for me, love you," he said, concluding his brief video with a quick wink.<br><br>Reports in the United States say Diesel was Drueke's dog.<br> <br>[https://www.rtnewstoday.com/ RT News Today]'s official Telegram channel also posted an interview with Huynh, in which he said the duo had been "engaged in combat with Russian troops" near Ukraine's flashpoint Kharkiv area.<br> <br>After the pair retreated and hid for hours, they surrendered themselves to Russian troops, Huynh said.<br> <br>The pair were also filmed in separate RT videos -- directly facing a camera angled from above -- saying "I'm against the war", in poor Russian.<br> <br>The circumstances under which the two men were speaking were not fully clear, nor who specifically was holding them.<br> <br>A US State Department spokesperson on Saturday confirmed American authorities had seen the photos and videos of the two US citizens "reportedly captured by Russia's military forces in Ukraine".<br> <br>"We are closely monitoring the situation and our hearts go out to their families during this difficult time," the spokesperson told AFP.<br> <br>- Worried families -<br> <br>Drueke's mother Lois had told CNN Thursday that her son went to Ukraine after discussing it with her for about a month.