Two military veterans from
Alabama who volunteered to defend Ukraine from Russian invaders but were captured are back home, according to a statement provided to the Guardian on Sunday.
The statement from the family of Alex Drueke, 40, said he and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, were among 10 foreign nationals included in a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia that was mediated by the Saudi Arabian government.
After
Drueke and Huynh underwent a medical examination and were cleared to travel, their families arranged for the pair to fly commercially from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to New York. From New York they flew to Birmingham, arriving shortly after noon on Saturday, the Drueke family statement said.