Former US Marine, who was released from Russian prison, injured fighting for Ukraine

A former US Marine, who was once jailed in Russia, has been injured fighting for Ukraine, the US State Department said on Tuesday (July 25). The former Marine,Trevor Reed was released by Russia in a prison swap in April 2022 and was sent to Germany for treatment when he was injured fighting for Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

Patel added that Reed was transported to Germany with the help of a private, non-governmental organisation and was receiving medical care. The nature of the injuries is not yet known. Speaking to the news agency Associated Press, two US officials said that the former Marine was taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a level II trauma care centre located near Ramstein Air Base.

'Reed travelled to Ukraine to fight on his own'

On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Patel also said that Trevor Reed was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the US government and had travelled to Ukraine to fight on his own.

“As I indicated, we have been incredibly clear warning American citizens, American nationals, not to travel to Ukraine, let alone participate in fighting,” Patel said. “As you know, we are not in a place to provide assistance to evacuate private US citizens from Ukraine, including those Americans who may decide to travel to Ukraine to participate in fighting,” he added.

The 2019 arrest

Reed, a Texas University graduate, was arrested in 2019 for assault on law enforcement officers after getting drunk and was sentenced to nine years in prison. However, in April 2022, Russia released him after the US negotiated an exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot and alleged drug smuggler who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by an American court.

While in custody, the former Marine said that he was coughing up blood and had also staged a hunger strike to protest the conditions under which he was held.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he did not expect Reed's case to have an impact on US efforts to bring home two Americans held in Russia - journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

"My expectation is that even as we are dealing with all sorts of other challenges in our relationship with Russia, we will and we are determined to continue to work to bring both Evan and Paul home," Blinken said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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