A former U.S. Marine who was freed in a prisoner swap was injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said.

Trevor Reed, the previous U.S. Marine who was detained in Russia for practically three years and later freed in a prisoner swap, was injured whereas combating in Ukraine, the State Department stated on Tuesday.

Mr. Reed’s situation was not instantly clear. He is receiving medical care in Germany, stated Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman. The news of his damage was first reported by The Messenger.

Mr. Reed was visiting his Russian girlfriend in Moscow in August 2019 when he was arrested on what his household stated had been bogus costs of assaulting law enforcement officials. The United States thought of him wrongfully detained, and after months of diplomatic negotiations and mounting public strain on the Biden administration, Mr. Reed was freed in April 2022 as a part of a prisoner swap for a Russian pilot imprisoned on cocaine trafficking costs within the United States.

Mr. Reed’s resolution to return to the area and grow to be a volunteer fighter for Ukraine created some “exasperation” inside the Biden administration, an administration official who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate delicate issues stated on Tuesday. The United States has repeatedly warned American residents to not journey to Ukraine or take part within the conflict, although untold numbers of them have accomplished so anyway.

“I want to be explicitly clear about something: Mr. Reed was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the U.S. government,” Mr. Patel stated at a news briefing, including that the nation was “not in a place to provide assistance” to evacuate Americans who traveled to Ukraine.

A U.S. Defense Department official, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate a delicate concern, stated on Tuesday that the United States was working with its companions and allies to handle Mr. Reed’s state of affairs, and the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, advised reporters that President Biden had been briefed on the matter. But Mr. Reed, now a non-public citizen, was transported to Germany by means of the assistance of an N.G.O. and never by means of U.S. authorities efforts, Mr. Patel stated. Citing privateness causes, he declined to specify whether or not Mr. Reed was being handled at a navy or civilian hospital.

Mr. Reed’s launch final 12 months had renewed hopes for different Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, together with the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner, who was freed in December by means of a separate prisoner swap. Two different Americans who’re thought of wrongfully detained stay: Paul Whelan, additionally a former U.S. Marine, and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Asked about considerations that Mr. Reed’s resolution to battle in Ukraine may jeopardize negotiations to safe the liberty of Mr. Whelan and Mr. Gershkovich, Mr. Patel stated the United States would “continue to engage directly with the Russian Federation.”