U.S. Marine veteran freed from Russian prison
The worst possible moment for bringing Trevor Reed home turned out to be the best.
With U.S.-Russian relations at their lowest point in decades, it seemed an improbable time to hope for the release of Reed, a former Marine detained in Russia for almost three years.
Yet last week the Biden administration completed the type of transaction it had earlier seemed resistant to, exchanging Reed for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot.
Facilitating the swap were factors including escalating concerns over Reed’s health, a private Oval Office meeting between his parents and President Joe Biden and a secretive Moscow trip by a former diplomat.
In March, Reed told his parents he’d been coughing up blood several times a day, had pain in his lung and a broken rib. Last year, he contracted COVID-19.
On Wednesday after Reed’s release, his parents were taken aback by how thin their son looked during video footage of the transfer. They said they expected that he would need medical care before resuming his daily life in Texas.
His mother, Paula Reed, later told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Trevor was getting testing done, and his sister, Taylor, said that his “spirits are bright.”
“He’s telling stories,” she said. “He’s flirting with the nurse staff. It’s great. It’s great to see.”
Left out of any deal were corporate security executive Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence on espionagerelated charges that his family says are fabricated, and Brittney Griner, a WNBA star detained in February on allegations of carrying a cannabis derivative in her bag.