6:17 p.m. ET, July 25, 2023
Trevor Reed, an American released by Russia in prisoner swap, was injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
A banner with a picture of Trevor Reed hangs in Lafayette Park near the White House in March 2022.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Trevor Reed, a former US Marine who was wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly three years
before being released last year,
was injured while participating in fighting in Ukraine, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed Tuesday.
Reed, who was freed in a prisoner swap in April 2022, was transported to a hospital in Kyiv and then evacuated to Germany for medical care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, which is a US military hospital near Ramstein Air Base, a US official told CNN.
The circumstances around Reed's injury in combat were not immediately clear.
The Messenger was
first to report the news.
The Biden administration is aware Reed “was injured while participating in fighting in Ukraine,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.
“We have warned that US citizens who traveled to Ukraine, especially with the purpose of participating in fighting there, that they face significant risks,” Jean-Pierre said. “We have said that over and over again, for the past more than 16 months now, including the real risk of capture or death — so been very clear with Americans here in this country about that.”
Jean-Pierre noted that Reed “was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the US government,” while fighting in Ukraine.
And she warned that, for Americans traveling to the region, “we are not able to provide assistance to evacuate US citizens — that’s not something that we are able to do from Ukraine, including those Americans who may decide to travel to Ukraine to participate in an ongoing war.”
Impact on other detained US citizens: When asked if he is concerned this will have negative implications on negotiations for Americans designated as wrongfully detained in Russia,
Paul Whelan and
Evan Gershkovich, the State Department's Patel said he wouldn’t speculate.
“We will continue to engage directly with the Russian Federation, calling for the release, you've seen us do so in the case of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, and will continue to remain deeply engage on those issues,” Patel said.
A US official, however, said that “of course” they are concerned about the potential impact this will have on negotiations, but stressed that they should not be considered together.
“This was something an individual did of their own volition and should be treated entirely separately from negotiations for the release of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan,” the official told CNN.
CNN's Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.