The Russian Ministry of Defense released a ton of information today that proves they have been keeping tabs on the foreign mercenaries who went to Ukraine in February to fight the Russians. According to the Russian information one of the Americans, a former Marine, Grady Kurpasi is dead. The other two, Alex Drueke and Tai Ngoc Huyn aka Andy Win, are prisoners. Andy has been imprisoned since March.
Here is how we know that Grady Kurpasi is dead:
Kurpasi joined the US Marines after the September 11 terrorist attacks and had four deployments during his service, including three to Iraq. He was a decorated service member who won the Good Conduct Medal three times, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal three times, the Purple Heart medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, among other awards, according to his military service record. . . .
A more interesting detail we’ve managed to track down is that he was a part of the same group as the British citizen Andrew Hill who was captured in the same area and at the same date. He later confirmed there was a guy ”Grady” from the US in his group. This is most likely Grady Kurpasi who should be assumed to be dead.
https://t.me/azmilitary11/7163
The following notebook apparently was Andrew Hill’s and he kept a log of the foreigners in his Ukrainian unit that died. You can see that Grady’s name is marked through.
There is solid video evidence that two other Americans, Alex and “Andy” are alive. There video comments must be taken with a grain of salt. They are captive and may not be expressing their true thoughts. However, what they say bolsters the Russian view that the west is being misled about the true situation on the ground in Ukraine. First up, Alex Drueke. He warns other former US soldiers thinking of going to Ukraine to stay away:
Tai Ngoc Huynh aka Andy Win was captured in either late February or March. How do we know? He describes freezing temperatures and that a Russian soldier covered him with a blanket to keep him warm. I do not think he is making this up. He paints a picture of chaos in Ukrainian forces that jives with the earlier videos I posted showing Ukrainian soldiers from 12 different units rebelling because of incompetent commanders and lack of support. Here is Andy:
Russia’s Ministry of Defense published the list of known foreign mercenaries who are in Ukraine fighting against the Russians. Here are the numbers for the Europeans and those from the Americas (this is as of today, 17 June 2022). The Europeans sent 4,866 mercenaries to Ukraine. One thousand two hundred fifty of those are dead and 1101 bailed out of the war and returned home. They were the smart ones. Of the 2,515 remaining, several of those were captured by the Russians. [NOTE–I am making the assumption that the term “eliminate” means “dead”. If the Russians are including captives and dead in the same figure, then the “TOTAL” number means those still in the field.]
The numbers for the Americas (i.e., from Canada all the way to South America) is smaller–1267. Five hundred thirty Americans, some former military, joined the battle. Two hundred and fourteen are dead and 227 came to their senses and retreated to the good old USA. According to the Russian tally, 89 Americans are either captive or still in the fight.
The captured foreigners are not entitled to being treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. The Russians see them as mercenaries. Two Brits already have been tried and sentenced to death. Russia may treat all those foreigners the same way. From their perspective, they are acting like the United States did when it captured plain clothed Germans who infiltrated Florida in World War II. Those Nazis were executed.
Foreign minister Lavrov is adamant regarding Russia’s legal position in this matter:
There is another video that shows how the Russians are treating a uniformed Ukrainian intelligence officer. The man is wounded and has received first rate field medical care. Pay close attention to the dressing, the sling and the shot of pain medication.
I want to reiterate that these are videos taken by the Russians. I will leave it to you to decide if it is propaganda or the truth. What I find most interesting is that Russia did not disclose that it had captured American fighters and is holding them. I suspect we will be seeing more information like this in the coming days.
One final point–the numbers provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense reflect very professional intelligence collection. It appears the Russians obtained Ukrainian documents listing names and country of origin of the foreigners who joined the fight.
That POS interviewing Mr Lavrov needs a swift kick on the arse for his lame attempt at trying to embarrass him.
That Ukro Soldier is definitely getting looked after, you could see it in his eyes the instant relief from pain straight after the injection.
Ah for the good old days (seventeen years ago) of Tucker Carlson joyriding with Blackwater mercenaries in Baghdad. …
Mr Carlson is the only commentator at Fox who really opposes the war and has significant interviews against it. Since I have sinned, I will not condemn him. We all can change.
Perhaps another work would be appropriate as well:
One, Two, Three, what are fighting for
Don’t ask me I don’t give damn…..
While the misguided and probably not to smart, definitely socio- or psychopathic volunteers have no defense against the death penalty, I think it would be a great boost to the public esteem of the Russians, LNR and DNR if these pawns were pardoned from death and the sentences were not forever.
lol great boost to public esteem .. are you high on something ? you dont make any sense while pleading for these criminal’s sentence..
You just hate westerners. I’m assuming you’re a CCP
I agree. If Russia demonstrates that it isn’t the evil barbaric country that the West portrays it as, and shows mercy, it would make them look moral and respectable. Right now it’s all about winning over the minds of everyone paying attention.
In the context of this war, where infantry on the ground do not seem so numerous, a contingent of 6k+ foreigners is quite a boost to Ukraine’s fighting forces. If “volunteering” had got greater traction (and felt “safe”) then one could easily have seen that number growing by a factor with ex soldiers (or soldiers on “leave”) from across the west jumping on.
Russia’s response to treat them as war criminals feels rational. They no doubt realize that this may mean that existing foreigners are super reluctant to surrender but they probably figure that the deterrent effect to prevent more coming and to encourage existing ones to leave is a better trade off.
No doubt there is genuine outrage too, that we ought not to discount. The BBC interviewer is appalling but the BBC these days is a pure propaganda outfit. More and more people in the UK refuse to pay for it. I am one of those. In the past, we had western politicians who were as direct and clear as Lavrov but right now we just have a bunch of total idiots.
only certain grp of mercs are trained , most are war tourist with no infantry training and used as cannon fodder / filler to plug gaps. i suspect the polish mercs are all ex military and sheep dipped commandos who have the best and most organized group working together before entering ukraine. Just like in 2014-15 when loads of polish mercs spearheading the ukrop offensive.
And thanks for your assumption. When you actually have facts to back up your claim then maybe people will take you seriously.
It wasn’t too long ago that a certain Colonel and his sidekick “Genius” were rarin to go kick some Russki butt lamenting that it was only their advanced ages that kept them back.
I read somewhere that the Israelis got 24 of their guys back in exchange for not providing Ukraine anymore materiel support so maybe there’s some hope for these guys.
Estos muchachos?
i only see a coward and honorless old man who pretended all these years as honorable person. When the neocon in DC initiate their worldwide anti russia propaganda the old colonel dropped his mask of anti neocon and showd his true face.
i disagree with ppl who think old age and medical issue change the person , i think the most logical explanation is that this old colonel cannot be bothered to keep up the mask on and dropped it for something , money ? favors to neocons ? blackmail ?
Was 24 the full complement? // To ensure they stick to their end of the bargain, one would think you would hold on to another 24 at least? (50% in advance, 50% when this thing ends…)
Here is new, longer interview with these two. If somebody is interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6br5MR2LHM
I am not sure what to think of these guys other than they were eaten up a with sense of “duty” slammed into their heads by the media and certain chicken-hawk politicians. The best I can say for them is they totally lack any trace of critical thinking skills. The loudmouths in congress and on the idiot-box are culpable for whatever is their fate.
As to what the Russians will do with them is anyone’s guess. It would be tempting to line them up against a wall as a lesson to others, but who knows, that might encourage other lunkheads to want to go kill Russkies to avenge their brothers. Those guys will have no excuse and will deserve anything the Russians decide to do with them.
These guys on the other hand seem to be mostly guilty of not being very bright, but Russia could certainly find a good use for them by keeping them alive and talking. The intricacies of international law here and the Geneva Convention are certainly beyond the understanding of the Grahams and Kinzingers as well as the typical brain-dead mainstream media consumers. At least in Russia they will get some semblance of a trial. Reverse the scenario and ask yourself what the US would do if the situation were reversed.
The same loons that celebrate and cheer the Abu Ghraib abuse will of course call the Russians “barbarians” for handing out a just sentence in these cases. I say just because these clowns embedded with the Nazis have almost certainly aided if not directly committed violence against civilians.
Just capturing these idiots makes the point I think and my guess is they will eventually send them home, but not before getting a taste of the damage they did by making them part of prisoner labor forces to clean up the bodies and rubble from the shelling they did. In my view that would have way more impact then lining them up blindfolded, but I guess that would depend on their attitude and level of genuine remorse. On the other hand Russia is probably sick and tired of the collective Wests bullshit. I think this will require a level of finesse that only the Russians are capable of.
Thanks for the update, info on this is difficult to locate, it is why I come here several times a day to read your posts and many of the excellent comments.
I watched the full video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6br5MR2LHM
I’m sure I’m not saying anything that the Russians aren’t aware of, but these two Americans have some well rehearsed cover stories; makes them sound as innocent as possible. They are doing a pretty good, albeit obvious, job; as is the “interviewer”. Neat little cat and mouse exchange. I do hope they are eventually able to come home in one piece.
“Well rehearsed cover stories” sound suspicious to me. Suggestive of a “sheep dipping”. I do also hope they can come home at 98 degrees and vertical, but they need have an understanding what they did and hopefully make some amends.
Yes, “sheep dipping” is its own, highly specialized and unique art form, especially in these days where you have biometrics.
I would think goes way beyond just legends and identity papers, military files created/altered/hidden/destroyed.
Didn’t the Chinese hack OPM and PERSCOM some years ago? And the real fear then was that by doing very sophisticated back-tracking and data-mining (where the *gaps* in records and what is missing (should be but isn’t) in someone’s file can be way more revealing than what is actually in there) that they could trace deeply buried and “sheep dipped” individuals?
most of these mercs worked as cooks , drivers or medics
lol
Right. The advertisement for mercs at $1,000 to $2,000 per day that I saw stated only *combat* veterans, DD-214s will must be presented and will be thoroughly checked out, etc.
Maybe these two really are just true volunteers and not mercs, but I’m skeptical. The stories about having no prior combat experience, about seeking humanitarian aid worker opportunities, but being gradually wrangled into a combat role and, then, of course, never actually killing any Russians seems to me to be the kind of thing they were trained to say if captured. Why would they volunteer when there is money to be made? They state they were willing to break contracts with UKR – and did – when the mission and/or their assigned unit didn’t seem to be ok. So if they wanted humanitarian and got a combat role, why didn’t they just break contract again and demand humanitarian? Again, I’m sure such points are not lost on the Russians.
I guess some portion of the $40 billion+ is paying the salaries of these mercs.
The two Brits said they were in mortar and artillery battalions.
Brits have bad SERE training? I dunno. Maybe I’m just plain off-base/wrong.
There were several videos available on youtube and twitter wherein US and Canadian “volunteers” had posted their Ukrainian combat experiences. These were combat vets of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars who had gone to UKR to fight and then returned home. They all described a terrible and desperate situation in UKR, including being sent to the front with a lousy old AK and maybe a mag or two of ammo, being amongst UKR conscripts also poorly armed, but barely trained on top of that, Russians easily and quickly targeting them and blasting the hell out of them with the heavy stuff. I had linked to several of those vids on a facebook post. Went to grab them to share here and they now come up with a “no longer available” message. Anyhow, the vids contained uncoerced testimony that confirms what the prisoners are saying and described a dire situation.
My son – a former Army officer and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan – recently shared with me a recruiting ad, targeting veterans, to join the fight in UKR. The pay offered is $1K to $2K/per day. I guess that ad has been circulating widely here in the US. My son and his buddies seem to have deemed it as legitimate. My son is 100% disabled due to wounds received in combat. So, fortunately, he can’t apply. However, it disturbed me that the prospect is tempting enough that he laments not being able to apply. I wonder how many still fit veterans will go for the opportunity to make some good money.
I’m hoping beyond hope that the DPR or Russians dont execute these mercenaries. Ten years hard labour rebuilding the place or in Siberia sends the message just as well.
Cant help thinking of the way that for a wide section of people in the West that the military is a career option offering a way out of deprivation and dead end life. Thats a good thing, but will it then become a training school for mercenaries if our countries dont stamp down on their own civilians fighting in other peoples wars?
They need to put them on the details that collect and dispose of the civilian bodies killed by the Nazi’s they worked for.
They would probably prefer the firing squad after that.
I’m gonna guess that the DPR executes the Brits but the Russians eventually hand back our guys. Just a gut hunch.
The North Macedonia statistics are likely misleading. I highly doubt very many ethnic Macedonian mercenaries are going to war against Russia. My guess would be that it is predominantly Albanians given the high numbers coming from Kosovo and Albania.
Last sentence most important. Suggests highly intelligence penetration of Ukraine. Consistent with accurate targeting of weapons depots. Suggests this extends to “intelligence” the US provides Ukraine.
You’re ahead of the major media here, Larry: they are still listing Kurpasi as “missing.” Don’t these doofuses know about Telegram??
Re: Canadians, I’m guessing a lot of them are Ukrainian-Canadians. Big, politically active community up there.
The whole thing about mercenaries bothers me as a lawyer. Let us start with the hypocrisy of it. During the American Revolution, there were French soldiers fighting with the Americans and German soldiers fighting with the British. Probably most wars have had mercenaries. It is just a fact. There really is no way to determine whether a soldier is loyal to the cause or loyal to his country.
Treating fighters in a war differently, regardless of what country they are from, does not sound anything like equality. I see no reason to treat them any differently than POW’s. We had this shit with “enemy combatants” as well.
Sure, we had foreign help before we were a country. Then after, we passed the first Neutrality Act (and strengthened it a couple times after, in the 30s). This prevents Americans from going abroad to fight other countries, no? I’m not the lawyer.
You would think that the Constitution, which says that Congress is to provide for the common defense and the general welfare of the United States would not need to specifically say that defense does not mean offense. But we have been on the offensive since who knows how long. If we don’t pay attention to the Constitution, why would we care about a quaint Neutrality Act?
A very fair point. There you go again. Trying to use logic and common sense. And doing so effectively.
The other thing you notice in that chart above is that it doesn’t seem that very many Eastern Orthodox Slavs and Greeks from the Balkans who are interested in being mercenaries. I’m guessing they don’t want to take up arms against their (our) Russian cousins, but it could also be that they don’t want to take sides.
Contrast this to the hostile behavior of the deep state puppet governments that run these countries. If it were up to the average guy in the balkans, nobody would be blocking airspace to a Russian plane.
Being out of sync with the public you represent is unsustainable in the long run. The neocons better keep that in mind when they install the next public government.
puppet government, not public government. Google got me again.
I think both of them are CIA operatives. I don’t think people are randomly joining to fight in thus war. The soldiers both looked like they have been trained to deal with these types of situations. They’re close to facing death abd yet they seem calm and collected. I think the second captured mercenary video the guy is trying to send a hidden message. Notice how many times he says uhhh? He’s trying to get something across with all those uhhhs