GRANBURY, Texas — President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin created a “complete rupture” in relations between the U.S. and Russia when he invaded Ukraine.
Those words pierced the hearts of Joey and Paula Reed of Granbury.
“It was like the exclamation point on it for me to see that,” Paula said. “It’s going to be that much more difficult to get Trevor home.”
Their son, Trevor Reed, 30, is serving nine years in a Russian prison.
He was convicted in a trial the U.S. government called “absurd.”
He traveled to Russia in 2019 to visit his girlfriend and was arrested for assaulting a police officer after a night out at a bar.
Talks to secure his release had been progressing, the Reeds said, but they worry the invasion of Ukraine will bring those conversations to a halt.
In a briefing with reporters Biden said he had “no plans” to talk to Putin.
Joey Reed said he hoped that comment was just rhetoric.
“It’s not good for anyone – Ukraine, Americans, or Russians – or anyone in the world for us to sever all contact,” Joey said. “We still need open line of communications. We need them in our case so they can keep discussing possible options for freeing our Americans held hostage there.”
The U.S. State Department offered a regular weekly briefing to the Reeds on Thursday morning, so “there’s been no break in communications yet,” Joey said.
But Russia has not allowed them to speak to their son since July.
“Our conversation would have been much different had we known this was all going to occur,” Joey said, choking up.
Paula finished her husband’s thought.
“He’s a tough guy. He’s hanging in there,” she said of her son.
After high school graduation, Trevor joined the U.S. Marines.
He was part of a presidential guard on security details for President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Biden.
The Reeds believe their son’s time in the military made him particularly interesting to the Russian government.
In June, President Biden said he spoke directly to Putin about Reed and Paul Whelan, another Marine veteran currently being held in Russia.
At that time, Biden said the men were wrongfully imprisoned and promised he “would not walk away” from their cases.
The Reeds are trying to generate exposure for their son in hopes of convincing the White House to keep the lines of communication open even during the war in Ukraine.