U.S. State Department officials are calling on Ukraine to release several Americans awaiting criminal trials in Ukraine as Russian troops march toward Kyiv, Axios reported Friday.
According to Axios, the department is concerned for the safety of at least five citizens detained in that nation's capital because the United States no longer has a diplomatic staff there to check on them.
The report said that the department made a request to Ukraine regarding the estimated five detainees on their behalf Wednesday, and also expressed concern about the safety of two U.S. Marines it said are illegally detained in Russia.
One of the American detainees, North Dakota farmer Kurt Groszhans, is awaiting trial. He is accused of planning to kill former business partner Roman Leshchenko, Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, according to the Axios report.
Groszhans' family told Axios the charges were "trumped up" after the farmer accused Leshchenko of corruption and has been asking the department for help freeing him since Russian President Vladimir Putin began building up troops at the Ukrainian border in January.
"Our concern is that the State Department is not advocating for his release because it would be inferring that Ukraine is engaged in corrupt activities right at a time when State is focused on being as supportive as possible of Ukraine against the Russians," Groszhans' sister Kristi Magnusson told Axios.
"We support the Ukrainian people against Russia as well, but our brother is a sitting duck in that prison, and we need him to be released so at least he can try to survive on his own."
The two Republican senators from North Dakota, John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, told the publication that they have been in touch with the State Department in the last week to get Groszhans released on humanitarian grounds amid the conflict.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Marines Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan are considered to be unlawfully detained in Russia and their families say their situation is also "dire."
Reed, who is serving nine years in a penal colony for allegedly assaulting a police officer in 2018, is having "severe health problems," his family told Axios.
"With each passing day, Trevor's situation becomes increasingly urgent. The Reeds continue to seek an urgent meeting with the president as Trevor's health continues to decline," a spokesman for Reed's family told Axios.
The State Department did not respond to Axios' request for comment on the report.
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