Daniel Martidale, an American citizen who helped military forces from Russia to hit Ukrainian troops and then removed from Eastern Ukraine from Russian Special Forces, it today (15.0-7.2025) Russian passport in Moscow.
State television and several mass media in Russia broadcast reports and footage since Martidale, with a well -groomed beard and dressed in a suit and tie, smiles as he received his Russian passport and new documents.
«Me, Daniel Richard Martdale, voluntarily and consciously, accepting the nationality of the Russian Federation, I swear to keep the Constitution“, He told Russian.
An American who helped our military from the #Ukrainian rear received a #Russian passport.
Daniel Martindale has been transmitting intelligence and coordinates of enemy facilities since 2022. Later, these locations were attacked. pic.twitter.com/xmU7BFbyOJ
– Ivan (@ll_Ivan_h) July 15, 2025
«The belief that Russia is not only my homeland but also my familyI am extremely happy that this is not only in my heart, but also by law, “Martidale told television cameras, holding the Russian passport.
The story of Daniel Marchyel
Martidail grew up in farms north of New York and Indiana, a child of missionaries who later moved to rural China, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
A brief trip beyond the border to the Far East of Russia during the family’s stay in China sparked March’s interest in Russia.
In 2018, Martdale, who is now around 30, moved to Vladivostok, a Russian-Limani city in the Pacific, where he studied Russian and taught English, before deporting a year later for violating labor law, the newspaper said.
He moved to southern Poland, but wanted to return to Russia, the Wall Street Journal reports. In 2022, March entered Ukraine a few days before President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of troops to enter Ukraine.
Respect and gratitude
March told reporters at a press conference in November 2024 that it came into contact with pro -Russian forces through the Telegram and They handed them information on Ukrainian military installations from the Donetsk area to the east of the country.
Reuters was unable to contact Martidale to ask about his motives for help to Russia. A US Embassy spokesman in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for commentary.
Today (15.07.2025), Denis Pusin, appointed by the Moscow -appointed leader of the Russian -controlled Donetsk area, presented to March his Russian documents, which, he said, were awarded him by Putin’s decree.
Dennis Pusilin (right) gives Russian passport to Daniel Martyl (left) / Denis Pushilin Via Telegram / Handout Via Reuters
Pusily expressed his gratitude to March, saying that some of the information he had shared formed the basis for the Russian occupation of Kurahove, a city near the main Ukrainian supply hub Pokrovsk:
«March has long proven with his dedication and actions that he is one of us. For us, this (the Russian passport) is a sign of respect and gratitude for what Daniel has done. “