U.S. Army Veteran Alex Drueke Recounts 105 Days of Russian Torture and Survival

Capture and Initial Evasion

• 🎯 Alex Drueke, a U.S. Army veteran with 12 years of service and two tours in Iraq, felt compelled to help in Ukraine after witnessing Russian aggression.
• ⚡ His initial goal was to train Ukrainian soldiers on NATO weapons and doctrine, but he ended up fighting.
• ⚠️ A mission went wrong, leading to Drueke and another American, Andy, evading enemy forces for about 8 hours without vehicles, radios, or maps, facing artillery, mortar fire, and a T-72 tank.
• 🤝 Drueke prioritized Andy's survival, ultimately laying down arms during a Russian pincer movement to protect him.

Interrogation and Torture in Russia

• ⛓️ Upon capture, Drueke and Andy were stripped of gear, blindfolded, bound, and had guns put to their heads, expecting immediate execution.
• 🇷🇺 They were taken to a Russian outpost where soldiers, curious about America, treated them like other soldiers, but higher-ranking officers were hostile.
• ✈️ After a week in Russia, they were moved to a POW camp where interrogation and torture began, including sleep deprivation and purposeful dehydration.
• 🗣️ Interrogators wrongly believed they were CIA, with their Alabama origins fueling suspicion of a CIA training hub there.

Brutal Torture and Psychological Warfare

• ⚡ Drueke endured electrocution, which caused his body to lock up, resulting in hairline fractures and a fractured jaw requiring surgery.
• 👊 He was forced to stand for 14 hours, randomly beaten, and subjected to baton beatings on his back, even finding temporary relief from spasms.
• 🤕 His ribs were broken intentionally, and a punch to the sternum caused it to separate, leading to severe pain and difficulty moving.
• 🧠 In solitary confinement for a month in a 2x6 ft cell, Drueke battled extreme boredom by replaying movies, building houses in his head, and even conversing with ants.

Mental Fortitude and Survival Tactics

• 🧘 Drueke's survival was attributed to stubbornness and anger at the mistreatment and war crimes.
• 🤐 He maintained stoicism, rarely crying out, to avoid giving his captors satisfaction or revealing what hurt him.
• 🎶 A loop of 80 songs played constantly, initially used as psychological torture, but Drueke used it to track time until the music was shut off, making timekeeping even harder.
• 🐜 He developed routines, like counting steps and interacting with ants, to keep his mind active and cope with isolation.

Reunion and Release

• 🤝 Drueke and Andy were reunited in a prison cell after a month and a half, providing crucial companionship.
• 📞 A forced phone call to the Veterans Crisis Line, initially intended for propaganda, ultimately led to their case being escalated and their eventual release.
• ✈️ The release process was disorienting, involving hours in a truck with plastic bags over their heads, leading to fears of execution, before boarding a Saudi Arabian plane.
• 🇺🇸 Upon landing in Riyadh, they were informed they were being freed, a moment that brought overwhelming emotion and relief.

Aftermath and Advocacy

• 🤕 Drueke suffers from permanent nerve damage, early onset arthritis, and a heart condition due to the torture.
• 🇺🇦 He remains an advocate for Ukraine, emphasizing the ongoing need for support and highlighting Russia's consistent violation of peace agreements and international law.
• 💪 Drueke uses his experience to carry weight in meetings with government officials, advocating for Ukraine as his "second home."