The State Department revealed Thursday that a third US citizen was reported missing after traveling to Ukraine, a day after two former American servicemembers were said to have been captured by Russian forces.
The third US citizen traveled to Ukraine in recent weeks and is believed to have done so to “take up arms,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
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On the other two missing Americans, who are believed to have been captured while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, Price said the US was in touch with Ukrainian authorities and the International Red Cross to try to find out the fate of the men.
Price said the US had not reached out to Russia about the missing Americans. “If we feel that such outreach through our embassy in Moscow or otherwise would be productive in terms of finding out more information on the whereabouts of these individuals, we won’t hesitate to do that,” he said.
The two Americans were reportedly captured in combat near Kharkiv last week, the Telegraph first reported.
The mother of one of those missing told the British outlet that she was in contact with the US Embassy in Kyiv, which “assured me that they are doing everything they can to find him and that they are searching for him alive, not dead.”
On Wednesday, John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters that he couldn’t confirm the reports. But if they are proven to be accurate, “we will do everything we can to get them back.”
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