Trevor Reed, US Marine veteran released by Russia in prisoner swap, injured fighting in Ukraine: State Dept.

Trevor Reed, US Marine veteran released by Russia in prisoner swap, injured fighting in Ukraine: State Dept.
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Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed who was wrongfully detained in Russia for three years before his release in a prisoner exchange, has been wounded while fighting in Ukraine. 

Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the State Department said Tuesday that Reed "was injured while participating in fighting in Ukraine since the beginning of this war."

Patel said Reed "was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the U.S. government," and reiterated that the U.S. government has "been incredibly clear warning American citizens, American nationals not to travel to Ukraine, let alone participate in fighting there."

"We have warned that U.S. citizens who travel 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 as well," Patel said. 

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Patel said that through the support of an NGO the government has learned that Reed has been transported to Germany and he is receiving medical care.

In April of 2022, Reed was released from a Russian prison after serving roughly three years in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian drug trafficker who was serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Connecticut. 

Reed, a now-31-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former presidential security guard, had been living in Russia in the summer of 2019 when was arrested by Russian police and accused of assaulting a police officer.

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Reed had been celebrating in a park with his longtime Russian girlfriend and her colleagues at the time, Joey Reed told Fox News Digital last year.

Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison, though his family has maintained his innocence and the U.S. government has described him as unjustly detained.

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Following a public trial, Reed was convicted in July 2020 of assaulting police officers and was sentenced to nine years in prison before his release Wednesday. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.

July 25, 2023 at 11:53PM
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