[Russia] - Ex-U.S. Marine, Once Imprisoned in Russia, Injured Fighting for Ukraine

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A former U.S
Marine who spent more than two years in a Russian prison was injured fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said Tuesday.Trevor Reed, who
was released by Moscow in an April 2022 prisoner swap, has been sent to Germany for the treatment of unspecified injuries incurred while
fighting for Ukraine, said Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman.Patel stressed that Reed "was not engaged in any activities on behalf
of the U.S
private, non-governmental organization and is currently receiving medical care.U.S
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had no further information on Reed's condition or status but he warned American citizens against
heading to Ukraine."It underscores why we continue to call on Americans not to travel to Ukraine and not to fight there," he told a news
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," he said.Reed was a Texas university student in 2019 when
he traveled to Russia with his Russian girlfriend.He was arrested for assaulting Russian police officers while intoxicated and was sentenced
to nine years in prison.In April last year, Russia released him after the White House negotiated an exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a
Russian pilot who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a U.S
court on drug smuggling charges.White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S
government has been "extraordinarily, extraordinarily explicit" in warning citizens "not to travel to Ukraine, let alone participate in
forces.Asked if the Reed episode could complicate U.S
were "separate
They're not the same."