Russian state television aired footage on Tuesday of a bearded Martindale, dressed in a suit and tie, smiling as he received his documents.
He recited the oath – “I, Daniel Richard Martindale, voluntarily accept the citizenship of the Russian Federation and swear to observe its constitution” – before adding that Russia was “not just my home, but my family”.
Martindale, now in his early 30s, grew up on farms in New York and Indiana. While his missionary parents lived in rural China, a brief trip across the border into Russia’s Far East sparked his fascination with the country, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
In 2018, he moved to Vladivostok to study Russian and teach English, but was deported a year later for labor‑law violations.
After a stint in southern Poland, he slipped into Ukraine in early 2022, just days before President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion.
At a news conference last November, Martindale said he had contacted pro‑Russian fighters via Telegram from Ukraine’s Donetsk region and passed them information on Ukrainian military facilities.
Russian special forces later spirited him out of the front line.
Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin‑installed leader of Russian‑controlled Donetsk, presented the passport on Tuesday, saying it was issued by presidential decree. He thanked the American for intelligence that he said guided plans to seize Kurakhove, a town near the strategic Ukrainian hub of Pokrovsk.
“Daniel has long proved through loyalty and actions that he is one of us,” Pushilin told reporters.
“This passport is a mark of respect and gratitude.”
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Source: Reuters, TVP Info