In 2018, after being arrested in Moscow for a friend’s wedding, the former US marine was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Mr Whelan is designated as “wrongfully detained” by the US government.

Kremlin-backed channel RT filmed the video at a labour camp.

Mr Whelan, however, declined to be interviewed.

This is the first time his family has seen him since the  filmed his final court appearance in Moscow in June 2020.

David Whelan, Paul’s twin, wrote in an email, “Paul’s fight remains in his eyes. It’s good to know he remains unbowed.” During the video, Mr Whelan is shown stitching industrial clothing in the prison factory and eating in the canteen.

He had previously told his parents he was being “badged” into participating in “Kremlin propaganda”. Although he seems relaxed and even smiles, he clearly tells the camera crew he won’t answer any questions in the video.

Just released, the video was filmed in May.

According to him, prison staff punished him for refusing to be interviewed, throwing his belongings on the floor, and trampling on them.

Not long after the arrest of US journalist Evan Gershkovich in March, the RT crew visited the remote IK-17 camp in Mordovia, which led to a rapid exodus of foreign journalists.

The Russian government accused the Wall Street Journal correspondent of espionage without providing any evidence. He was also immediately designated as a “wrongful detainee” by the US government.

Both men have been repeatedly urged to be released by senior officials.

Paul Whelan believed he would soon be swapped for a high-profile Russian convict in the US from the moment he was arrested.

During calls to me from prison in 2020 and 2021, he explained that was why he never appealed. In spite of his imprisonment, he was always optimistic, convinced that he would be released soon.

In prisoner swaps since then, former US Marine Trevor Reed and US basketball player Brittney Griner have been arrested in Russia, convicted, and released.

Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer, was among those set free by the US.

According to the RT video, Paul Whelan has been “thrown under the bus” by his government. As the report is released after three months, it appears to be Kremlin pressure on the US government to make concessions to Russia.

Paul Whelan has spoken of feeling abandoned in his fifth year as a prisoner.

In the wake of Evan Gershkovich’s arrest on the same spying charge, the Whelan family felt Paul was “rattled like never before”, fearing he’d be overlooked again.

Speculation has suggested the Kremlin is demanding the return of undercover agents or Russians convicted of cybercrimes arrested in the US and Europe.

US and Kremlin confirm only that they are in contact.

As David Whelan told the , the US government is still unsure how to respond.

“It’s not clear what the US government is waiting for – finding a concession, deciding to use a concession – nor does the fact that Paul is in a labour camp help.”

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in July that the US government was prepared to “do anything” to bring the men home, but that there was still no “clear path to resolution”.