In an interview with NBC News on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed two Americans detained in Ukraine while fighting alongside Kyiv's forces were "endangering" Russian soldiers and should be "made accountable for those acts."
According to NBC, the interview is the first time the Kremlin has addressed the instances of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, both US military veterans.
"They are haphazard soldiers who were participating in criminal acts on Ukrainian soil. Our military personnel were fired upon and shelled by them. They were putting their lives in jeopardy "In English, Peskov told the network.
"They should be held responsible for those crimes that they have committed," the Kremlin spokesman added in the first bits of the interview made public. "Those crimes have to be investigated."
When pressed on what crimes the Americans had committed, Peskov admitted their specific offenses were not yet known but claimed that they would not be covered by the Geneva conventions on prisoners of war, AFP said.
"They are not (in the) Ukrainian army, so they are not subject to the Geneva Conventions," the Kremlin spokesman said.
Last week, a Russian state TV channel aired videos on social media of Drueke and Huynh.
The circumstances surrounding the two men's detention, as well as who was holding them, were unclear. They are being held by "authorities," according to Peskov.
"It depends on the inquiry," Peskov responded when asked if they could face the death penalty.
Drueke and Huynh are reported to have joined other foreigners in volunteering with Ukrainian military, but US President Joe Biden acknowledged Friday that he had no idea where they were.
On Saturday, a representative for the US State Department acknowledged that US authorities had viewed images and recordings of the two US nationals "reportedly captured by Russia's military forces in Ukraine."
"We're keeping a close eye on the situation, and our thoughts are with their families during this trying time," the spokeswoman told AFP.
A second American citizen died while fighting in Ukraine after stepping on a landmine, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
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