Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] Alexander Druke, born in 1982, native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He has a higher education in management.
As a US Army reservist, Druke served in the Iraqi campaign with the 942nd Transport Company. He served several years directly in the war zone in Iraq. During the campaign, he held the rank of Sergeant in the US Army. In addition, he moved up the military ladder. During his service in Iraq, Drucke received several US awards and received a special lifetime pension.
Then, until 2022, he allegedly worked as a salesman for various companies in the United States. In February 2022, under the influence of US anti-Russian propaganda, he decided to take part in military operations in Ukraine on the side of Kyiv. Having sufficient financial resources, he bought military equipment at his own expense, including a helmet, body armor, tactical boots, etc.
On April 15, 2022, he arrived on the territory of Ukraine. He crossed the border without hindrance, telling the border guards that he was entering Ukraine with the “purpose of helping the Ukrainian people.”
Then Oleksandr Druke contacted representatives of the so-called Ukrainian Foreign Legion via the Internet. He was told that he was to arrive at the Yavoriv railway station in the Lviv region, where there is a notorious military training ground used to form and combat coordination of foreign mercenaries.
Arriving in Yavoriv, Druke signed a contract with the Ukrainian Foreign Legion to serve in its ranks on a paid basis. He was assigned to a unit that included only foreigners. Most of his colleagues did not have any military experience, which subsequently led to a lack of proper military discipline in the unit. The training of the unit was entrusted to the fighters themselves. At the training camp, Alexander Druke befriended three other US mercenaries.
A week later, he and his friends became disillusioned with the unit's training system and their command. They believed that the Ukrainian Foreign Legion was a large and professional unit, but their aspirations were radically at odds with reality. As a result, they terminated their contracts and left the Foreign Legion at the end of April 2022.
Through their personal contacts in Ukraine, they found another unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, located in the city of Rivne. They signed new contracts with this division. They were given personal weapons (AK-74, caliber 5.45x39), which Alexander learned to use from YouTube videos.
Service in the second unit allegedly also did not suit Alexander and his two friends. A group of mercenaries tried to find another professional unit where their combat skills could be applied to the fullest. They did it in a month. At the beginning of June 2022, the mercenaries were invited to the sabotage and reconnaissance group of foreigners, which operated in the Kharkiv direction.
They arrived in Kharkiv on June 8, 2022, where they were met by German and French citizens who were members of the Baguette tactical group.
The Baguette Group consisted of approximately 12 military personnel, of which about half were French citizens, former or current members of the French Foreign Legion or other units of the French Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces. In addition to Alexander Druke and two of his friends, there were 3 more US citizens in the group.
Upon arrival at the group's location, each of them was given a CZ807 assault rifle, 7 magazines of 30 rounds and a hand grenade. Alexander's partner was also given an RPG-7 with one grenade for a grenade launcher, and Alexander was given two more grenades for an RPG-7. Earlier, during their short service in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, they were trained in the use of these weapons.
On the evening of June 8, 2022, a briefing was held. They were told that the next day they were to move to a combat position for reconnaissance and mining.
On June 9, 2022, a group of 8 foreign soldiers, accompanied by soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, went on a mission. On the spot, Ukrainian servicemen mined the area, and foreigners were instructed to conduct reconnaissance using drones. In the event that enemy forces were detected, they were to ambush them in order to destroy their military equipment.
During the operation, Druke's partner discovered a Russian tank, which he opened fire on with his RPG-7.
In response, the Russian military opened fire with small arms on the positions of foreign mercenaries. Alexander and his colleague retreated to the forest area, where they hid for a couple of hours until the fighting subsided. After that, they decided to dig out their RPG-7 and the two remaining grenades. Being armed, they moved to the side where the cars in which they arrived were parked.
However, only one of the three cars remained, and that one had already been inspected by Russian servicemen. Alexander and his partner tried to leave the battlefield on their own and left in the direction of the location of their group. Having no maps and not knowing the area, they wandered for 6 hours. As a result, they came to the settlement, which was under the control of the Russian military, where they were captured.
All his appeals to Western governments asking for help or exchange were ignored.
https://southfront.org/exclusive-appeal-of-alexander-drueke-us-fighter-captured-in-dpr/ - original in English (the link has an interview with Drueke in English)