Russia has awarded citizenship to Daniel Richard Martindale, a U.S. national who spent two years covertly gathering intelligence on Ukrainian troop movements for Russian forces. State television on 15 July showed Martindale receiving a Russian passport during a ceremony at the Donetsk People’s Republic representation office in Moscow, where he swore allegiance in fluent Russian and described the country as his “family.” Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-installed leader of the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk, presented the documents and said Martindale’s reports formed “the basis” for operations that led to Russia’s capture of the industrial town of Kurakhove near Pokrovsk. The citizenship was conferred by presidential decree from Vladimir Putin; Russian media also said Martindale received a separatist medal for his service. Martindale, now in his early 30s, entered Ukraine by bicycle from Poland in February 2022, posing as a Christian missionary while living in a village behind Ukrainian lines. From there he transmitted coordinates of Ukrainian military assets until October 2024, when Russian special forces extracted him as front-line fighting drew closer. Reuters said the U.S. State Department declined to comment on the case. Foreigners have occasionally joined Russia’s invasion as fighters or propagandists, but few are known to have supplied battlefield intelligence from inside Ukrainian-held territory. Moscow’s decision to publicise Martindale’s naturalisation underlines the Kremlin’s drive to showcase foreign support as the war enters its fourth year.