Putin rewards U.S. man with a Russian passport for spying in Ukraine
Martindale received his passport from interior ministry officials at a ceremony in Moscow, according to state media and a video published by Pushilin. Martindale thanked Russia for "accepting me," and said becoming a Russian citizen was a "dream." "Russia is not only my home, but my family," he said in Russian on the video. After two years spying on Ukraine, he was extracted in "a complex evacuation operation" after Moscow started to fear his life was in danger if he stayed any longer, Pushilin said. In November 2024, state media reported Russian security forces had taken him to Russia and Martindale lodged his application for Russian citizenship. A Telegram account purporting to be his posted that same month: "Hello, I'm Daniel Martindale, the guy that Russian soldiers risked their lives to evacuate from the village where I had lived for two years."
Around that same time, Martindale told pro-Russian bloggers that he had arrived in Ukraine shortly before Russia launched its invasion, hoping to reach the Ukrainian border region of Donetsk. Martindale told the bloggers he had contacted Russian intelligence services on his own initiative and was told to go to the city of Vuhledar and wait for Russian forces to arrive. He said he remained in the city, pretending to be a missionary, until the fall of 2024, when Russian troops seized the city after a protracted battle.
Ukrainian journalists have found some evidence to suggest that Martindale may have been recruited by Russian agencies years earlier, as he visited Russia between 2016 and 2019, taking university courses. According to some reports, he was deported from Russia in 2019 for violating labor laws.
Trump pushes senators to make $9.4 trillion in spending cuts
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass says National Guard deployment in city was "a misuse" of soldiers
Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Syria's foreign minister to make first official visit to Moscow since Assad's ouster
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Russia announced Wednesday that Syria's foreign minister will visit Moscow, the first official visit to Russia by an official in the new government in Damascus since former Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted in a rebel offensive last year. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the state news agency Tass that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will host his Syrian counterpart, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, for talks in Moscow on Thursday. The two will discuss bilateral ties, as well as 'international and regional issues,' the statement said. There was no statement from Syria on the visit. Assad was an ally of Russia, and Moscow's scorched-earth intervention in support of him a decade ago turned the tide of Syria's civil war, helping to keep Assad in his seat for years. However, when insurgent groups launched a new offensive last year, Russia did not intervene again to save Assad. Instead, Assad took refuge in Russia after his ouster. The former president later claimed in a statement posted on Facebook that he had wanted to stay in the country and continue fighting but that the Russians had pulled him out. He said that he left Damascus for Russia's Hmeimim air base in the coastal province of Latakia on the morning of Dec. 8, hours after insurgents stormed the capital. He hadn't planned to flee, but the Russians evacuated him to Russia after the base came under attack. Despite having been on opposite sides of the battle lines during the civil war, the new rulers in Damascus, headed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, have taken a pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow. A Russian delegation visited Damascus in January, and the following month, Russia's President Vladimir Putin had a call with al-Sharaa that the Kremlin described as 'constructive and business-like.' Some Russian forces have remained on the Syrian coast, and Russia has reportedly sent oil shipments to Syria. Al-Sharaa publicly thanked Russia for its 'strong position in rejecting Israeli strikes and repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty' after Israel intervened in clashes between Syrian government forces and armed groups from the Druze religious minority earlier this month.
Wall Street Journal
4 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
GOP Eyes European Money to Replace U.S. Weapons Donated to Ukraine
WASHINGTON—Two top Senate Republicans laid out a plan Wednesday to allow allies to finance donations of U.S. weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, following through on a proposal pushed by President Trump to raise billions of dollars a year for the war effort. The PEACE Act proposed by Sens. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) and Jim Risch (R., Idaho) provides the most detailed outline yet of how Trump could carry out his new plan to arm Kyiv with European funds after his efforts to bring about a swift end to the war in Ukraine ran aground. Wicker chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and Risch chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, giving the legislation heft on Capitol Hill.
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Washington Post
Russian soprano's case alleging national original discrimination against the Met Opera to proceed
NEW YORK — A federal judge says Russian soprano Anna Netrebko can move forward with her case claiming national original discrimination by the Metropolitan Opera, which dropped her after she refused to repudiate President Vladimir Putin over Russia's campaign against Ukraine. The decision by U.S. District Judge Analisa Nadine Torres in Manhattan was made public Wednesday, a day after it was issued. The case, which will proceed alongside her claim of gender discrimination, has yet to be scheduled for trial.
