MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. A Russian court has sentenced US national Trevor Reed to 14 years and six months in prison in absentia for mercenary activities, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"The court considered the evidence gathered by the Russian Investigative Committee as sufficient to convict US national Trevor Rowdy Reed in absentia. He was found guilty under Article 359.3 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Mercenary Activities"). The court sentenced him to 14 years and six months in prison. He has been put on an international wanted list," the statement reads.

It was established that Reed, a US Marine Corps veteran, had joined the Ukrainian armed forces on May 25 and received training in Ukraine. He took part in fighting against Russian troops in the Donetsk People’s Republic in exchange for money.

Reed was remanded in custody in absentia.

Earlier, a Russian court sentenced the American to nine years behind bars for assaulting police officers. His trial took place in 2020. On April 27, 2022, Reed was exchanged for Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko who had been jailed in the US.