U.S. citizen who helped Russia from inside Ukraine granted passport by Putin

Daniel Martindale, a U.S. citizen who helped the Kremlin target troops in Ukraine, has received a Russian passport in Moscow.

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.