Moscow — An American who spied on Ukrainian troops to help Moscow’s military offensive in the country has been granted Russian citizenship, Moscow-installed authorities said Tuesday. Daniel Martindale spent two years in Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, transmitting coordinates of military facilities to Russia’s secret services, according to reports in Russian state media.
“By decree of our President Vladimir Putin, a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation was awarded to Daniel Martindale,” Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that Martindale had “long since proven with his loyalty and actions that he is one of us.”
“He spent more than two years in the territory under enemy control. And not only did he survive — he helped. He supported our guys, passed on important information to our special services, risked his life,” he added.
Telegram/Reuters
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.