Marine veteran freed from Russia in 2022 prisoner swap is injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says

By ERIC TUCKER and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former U.S. Marine who was released from Russia in a prisoner swap last year has been injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said Tuesday.

Trevor Reed was injured several weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. He has been taken to Germany for medical care, said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

“I want to be explicitly clear about something. Mr. Reed was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the US government,” Patel said in a statement. “And as I indicated, we have been incredibly clear warning American citizens, American nationals, not to travel to Ukraine, let alone participate in fighting. 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.”

Reed was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap last year in exchange for a Russian pilot, Konstantin Taroshenko, imprisoned in the U.S. for a drug trafficking conspiracy.

The Messenger was first to report Reed’s injury.