(NewsNation) — Alex Drueke, who was freed in a prisoner swap two years ago, says he’s “incredibly happy” for the three Americans released from Russian custody and their families.
“Myself and my family, we very much know what that day is like, and those feelings are like, and so I’m very happy for them,” he said Friday on “Morning in America.”
Retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich touched down in the U.S. late Thursday after being released. Gershkovich and Whelan had spent 16 months and more than 5 1/2 years, respectively, behind bars in Russia.
Drueke is a U.S. military veteran who traveled to Ukraine to take up arms against Russian forces after they invaded in February 2022. He returned home after being held captive by the Russians for more than 100 days. He and another U.S. citizen, Andy Huynh, were released in a prisoner exchange brokered by Saudi Arabia.
During their time in captivity, Drueke and Huynh were interrogated, physically and psychologically abused, and given little food or clean water, The Washington Post reported.
Although Drueke was a prisoner of war rather than a civilian prisoner, he understands the different treatment they faced and can imagine the horrible experiences and challenges they endured. He added that they have a long road of healing ahead.
“It’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs. It’s going to be so amazing to be back home with loved ones, and try and start assimilating back into normal life,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough road for them, they’re gonna have a lot of adjustments. But, I hope that they have really good support networks and that they’re able to start assimilating back to normal life.”
Drueke’s message to the freed Americans is to stay “51% positive.”
“One of the rules that we came up with in captivity was what we call the 51-49 rule, which is you always have to stay 51% positive no matter what. So, as these prisoners come home and they’re dealing with the challenges of reassimilating, all I can say is just stay at least 51% positive; you’re gonna make it.”