(MENAFN) Two seized American fighters might face the death penalty in Donetsk, the capital of the newly established Donbas Peoples' Republic, according to a White House official.
On Tuesday, John Kirby, the White House's coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, told reporters that it is "appalling" that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov would even imply such a possibility for Americans.
“It's appalling that a public official in Russia would even suggest the death penalty for two American citizens that were in Ukraine. And we're going to continue to try and learn what we can about this,” Kirby asserted.
Russia announced last week that two Americans had been detained while fighting with Ukraine's soldiers.
Peskov named them "mercenaries" who were engaged in illegal activities and should be "held accountable for those crimes.”
He also stated that the imprisoned men are not covered by the Geneva Conventions as they are not regular troops.
"They're soldiers of fortune and they were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine. They were involved in firing and shelling our military personnel. They were endangering their lives," he added.
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