Trevor Reed was injured while fighting in Ukraine a source familiar with the matter told The Messenger. Reed was transported to a hospital in Kyiv and was evacuated to Germany for medical care. The circumstances around Reeds injury in combat were not immediately clear. A US official said that of course they are concerned that the development with Reed will negatively impact ongoing negotiations aimed at freeing two Americans who remain wrongfully detained in Russia Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. But this was something an individual did of their own volition and should be treated entirely separately from negotiations for the release of Evan and Paul. The State Department has been incredibly clear warning American citizens American nationals not to travel to Ukraine let alone participate in fighting, a spokesperson for the State Department said. The Messenger was first to report the news. The former US Marine was arrested in Moscow in the summer of for intoxication and was sentenced to nine years in prison in July for endangering the life and health of Russian police officers in an altercation. His release from Russian prison in April came after months of effort by the US government officials said and was particularly urgent given concerns about Reeds health. It was ultimately secured through a prisoner swap for Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko a Russian smuggler convicted of conspiring to import cocaine. Reed and his family denied the charges against him and he was designated as wrongfully detain by the U.S. State Department. He is being treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center a US military hospital near Ramstein Air Base. The US State Department did not provide details on when the USGovernment became aware of Reeds injuries in conflict. It is not clear when the incident occurred. The Reed family declined to comment. The incident was first reported by The Messenger and has been confirmed by a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Messenger to protect his privacy. The cause of the injury is not yet known. The source said that Reed was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the US Government and that he was being treated by an NGO in Germany with the support of an unnamed NGO. He was released in April after three years in Russian prison after being arrested for intoxication in Moscow and was convicted of endangering police officers’ lives. The Russian government has not commented on the circumstances around Reed’s injury in Ukraine but has said that they are working to have him returned to the United States to be reunited with his family. The U.N. Security Council has called on the Russian government to release the two Americans still being held in Russia to return to their home countries. The United States has said it will continue to engage directly with the Russian Federation calling for their release. It has also said that it will not allow the Russian Government to continue to hold American citizens against their will in Russia. The American government has warned that US citizens who traveled to Ukraine especially with the purpose of participating in fighting there that they face significant risks including the risk of capture or death or physical harm, a State Department spokesperson said.
Former US Marine who was released by Russia in prisoner swap injured while fighting in Ukraine.
