American fighter who was captured by Russia last year is back in Ukraine
When Alex Drueke was captured and later released by Russian forces in Ukraine last year, he told ABC News he was convinced he was going to die.
After surviving two months of captivity in one of the most dangerous places on earth, some might forgive him for never wanting to see it again.
But now he's back in Ukraine to help with the war effort. Speaking exclusively to ABC News, he explained why he decided to leave Alabama, and head east again.
"I feel pretty good," he says at the community center where he's helping with humanitarian relief. "You know. Ukraine is like a second home to me, so it's nice to be home again."
Drueke says he's not back to fight. He doesn't want to get too close to Russian lines, he says. "I'm a marked man and I think I got my one second chance at life," he says. "So, yeah, if I get captured again. I'll disappear."
He added, "The first time I came, I felt like I had a lot to contribute to the Ukrainian people, to their military. And now I feel like I have even more. Now, I can talk about conduct after capture and how they can stay alive if they happen to get captured. So I feel like I have a lot to give them."
A veteran of the Iraq war, Drueke joined a unit in the foreign legion last summer, but was captured by Russian soldiers along with another U.S. military veteran, Andy Huynh. They spent 105 days in captivity until they were released in a prisoner swap with the help of Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
"It was pretty rough," he recalls. "I mean, they tortured us in ways that I thought only happened in movies, but no, it was for real."
"It has deeply affected me," he says. "It seems funny to say it, but in a lot of ways, I was lucky that I already had PTSD from Iraq. I came into this situation with some tools in my toolbox and some knowledge of what trauma can be like and how you can deal with it."
He added, "I came into the situation a little bit more prepared, but being in solitary confinement for a month and being on death row in a Russian prison for two, two and a half months gives you a lot of time to think. A lot of time to be introspective. I learned a lot about myself. And I realized that I legitimately have a second chance on life. There were countless times that I was less than a second away from death. And so I'm trying to do positive things which is one of the reasons I'm back here in Ukraine. I want to do good things with my life."
When asked what his family thinks about his decision to return to Ukraine, he says, "A lot of my friends and family were very concerned and very worried that I was coming back. But it's something I was compelled to come here the first time."
He added, "I'm compelled to come back this time because I want this war to end."
