Colin Freeman has narrated this article for you to listen to.
The Ukrainians of Alabama are not the kind of lobbyists whose visits strike fear into pro-Trump politicians in Washington. They are an ad hoc campaign group of expats and refugees who do their best to put Kyiv’s case politely to representatives of Congress and Senate. They do, however, have a secret weapon, in the form of an ex-US soldier from the town of Tuscaloosa, whose backstory is the kind the Beltway finds hard to ignore.
Alex Drueke, 42, is an Iraq veteran whose ancestors served in every major American war since the War of Independence. Appalled at Vladimir Putin’s invasion, he joined Ukraine’s International Legion, only to be captured on his first mission, becoming the first American PoW in Moscow’s hands since Francis Gary Powers in 1960. He suffered 100 days of beatings and torture before being freed in a prisoner swap in late 2022. He now uses his fame to advocate for Ukraine.
‘We bring different perspectives, whether it’s wider concerns about Trump’s plans for Ukraine, or my own direct experience of Russian war crimes,’ says Drueke, who also talks to high schools, church groups and anywhere else that will have him. ‘But occasionally, someone will hear my story and go: “Oh, so you’re that guy from the news?”’
Being an ex-PoW doesn’t have quite the sway that it used to in Republican circles. In 2015, Donald Trump was openly dismissive of John McCain, who spent more than five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, saying he preferred war heroes ‘who weren’t captured’.
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