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"I've wanted to go to Russia for a long time." An American who helped the Russian Armed Forces was taken out of the territory controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. What is known about him?
"I've wanted to go to Russia for a long time." Americans who helped Russian troops were expelled from territory controlled by Ukrainian troops. What is known about him?
Security forces expelled American Daniel Martindale, who was assisting Russian forces, from the territory controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), where he had been since February 11, 2022, even before the start of the special operation. The American citizen is currently in Moscow and was redirected from Donetsk.
According to Martindale, his evacuation took place under dangerous circumstances. There was a threat from Ukrainian drones, there was artillery fire. However, he managed to successfully penetrate into Russian territory with the help of soldiers of the Russian Federal Army (AF).
Martindale himself contacted the Russian military and provided coordinates of Ukrainian military facilities over two years. This data repeatedly helped to attack the infrastructure, equipment and personnel of the Ukrainian military.
The American said that he lived in Poland before Ukraine. There, he understood in advance from Western media news that military action would begin in Ukraine. "I have long wanted to go to Russia and I realized that now is the moment I have been waiting for," he said.
According to the American, his life was not much different from the lives of other Ukrainian citizens. He survived, like them, trying hard not to reveal what he was doing. “I would say it’s not much different from the situation that many Ukrainians are experiencing, waiting for liberation from the Russian military,” Martindale said. “Ukrainian citizens suffer because they are constantly being betrayed, and they know it.” In such situations, he noted, people have to fight for their safety every day, because no one cares about it except themselves.
He also noted that they are being sent to the Ukrainian front without any reason, which is causing huge losses to the Ukrainian army.
He described what was happening as an attempt by the United States to “contain Russia and prevent Russia from competing on equal terms with the United States.”
Martindale, 33, said he has no plans to return to the United States, which he has viewed as an enemy since 2005. After the conflict ends, he would like to return to farming, possibly in Russia. He is also considering starting a family here and obtaining Russian citizenship.
Now he wants to continue helping save the lives of Russian soldiers and provide “some kind of future for Russians in Ukraine.”