US citizen who helped Russia from inside Ukraine granted Russian passport by Putin

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Daniel Martindale, a U.S. citizen who helped the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops and was then spirited out of eastern Ukraine by Russian special forces, has received a Russian passport in Moscow.

Russian state television broadcast a report on Tuesday showing Martindale, with a trim beard and dressed in a suit and tie, smiling as he received his new documents.

"I, Daniel Richard Martindale, voluntarily and consciously, accepting the citizenship of the Russian Federation, swear to observe the constitution," he said in Russian.

"The belief that Russia is not just my home, but also my family - I am extremely glad that this is not only in my heart, but also by law," Martindale told television cameras, holding up the Russian passport.

Martindale grew up on farms in upstate New York and Indiana, the child of missionaries who later moved to rural China, according to a Wall Street Journal report. A brief trip over the border into Russia's Far East during the family's time in China sparked Martindale's interest in Russia.

In 2018, Martindale, now in his early 30s, moved to Vladivostok, a Russian port city on the Pacific, where he studied Russian and taught English, before being deported a year later for violating labour laws, the Journal said.

He moved to southern Poland, but was keen to return to Russia, the Journal said.

In 2022, Martindale entered Ukraine just days before President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of troops into Ukraine.

RESPECT AND GRATITUDE

Martindale told reporters at a press conference last November that he established contact with pro-Russian forces via Telegram and passed them information on Ukrainian military facilities from the Donetsk region in the country's east.

Reuters was not able to contact Martindale to ask about his motivation for helping Russia. A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Moscow did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

On Tuesday, Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk region, presented Martindale with his Russian documents, which he said were awarded by a decree from Putin.

Pushilin expressed gratitude to Martindale, saying some of the information he had shared formed the basis for Russian planning to seize Kurakhove, a town near the key Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Martindale "has long since proven with his loyalty and actions that he is one of us."

"For us, this (the Russian passport) is a sign of respect and a sign of gratitude for what Daniel has done."

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)