Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called it appalling that Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov could allow the possibility of the death penalty for Americans who fought in Ukraine, CNN reports . We are talking about 39-year-old Alexander Druk and 27-year-old Andy Huine.

“We are still trying to find out more about these two people. It is terrible that an official in Russia allowed the possibility of the death penalty for two American citizens who were in Ukraine,” he said.

Kirby also added that he would not try to get into the heads of Peskov or Russian President Vladimir Putin, but even if this is only a statement, it is still a wake-up call.

“Either way, it’s equally troubling: do they really mean what they say that they can pass the death sentence on two Americans in Ukraine, or do they just consider it a responsible act on the part of a major power to say so to signal the president USA and the American people. Either option is equally troubling.”

On the eve of Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with MSNBC, he said that the Americans detained in Ukraine are accused of mercenarism, therefore "they cannot and are not subject to the Geneva Convention." The actions of the Americans, he said, "must be investigated and they must be brought to justice." He also did not rule out the possibility that in the so-called DPR, Americans could be sentenced to capital punishment - the death penalty.

Earlier, VGTRK correspondent Andrei Rudenko published two videos with Dryuke and Huen. Before that, on June 16, it was reported that two residents of Alabama, who are also veterans of the US Army, went missing near Kharkov. They came to Ukraine to fight on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as volunteers. The Associated Press wrote that nothing was known about their whereabouts. The Telegraph writes that 39-year-old Alexander Dryuke and 27-year-old Andy Tai Ngoc Huen were captured by the Russian military last week during the fighting in the village of Izbitskoye. The publication adds that Dryuke and Huen are considered the first Americans who were captured by the Russian military. Huen's relatives said they had not heard from him since June 8. Officially, the American authorities did not confirm the information that Dryuke and Huen were taken prisoner, but stated that they were monitoring the situation and were in touch with the Ukrainian authorities.