Russia has agreed to a “historic” prisoner exchange with the U.S. and Germany, the largest swap between Russia and Western powers since the Cold War.
16 American, German, British, and Russian citizens – including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich – have been released under the deal.
Eight people were released and returned to Russia as part of the agreement, including a convicted murderer.
The deal
Several western powers, including the U.S., has spent the past few monthsfor a prisoner swap held in Russia and its neighbouring ally Belarus – the biggest since the Cold War.
Talks took place with the help of other countries, including Germany, Poland, Türkiye, Slovenia, and Norway.
Overnight, the prisoners were swapped at Esenboga International Airport in Türkiye. U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the prisoner exchange as a “feat of diplomacy”.
So, who was included in the exchange?
Evan Gershkovich
Wall Street Journal reporter
491.
The American journalist was working as awhen he was detained in March 2023.
Last month, a Russian court sentenced Gershkovich to 16 years in jail on spying charges that the U.S. described as “wrongful”.
Gershkovich’s family said: “We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close.”
Paul Whelan
: Former U.S. Marine
: 2,043 (5 years, 7 months).
Whelan was in Moscow for a friend’s wedding when he was arrested by the Russian secret service in December 2018.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison after what observers called a “sham trial”.
His family expressed relief but acknowledged they were “unsure how someone overcomes” whatWhelan has endured, “and rejoins society after being a hostage”.
Alsu Kurmasheva
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: Dual U.S-Russian citizen, journalist at Radio Free Europe
289.
Kurmasheva travelled to Russia to see her mother in June 2023. She was detained for failing to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities.
After a secret trial, she was convicted of spreading “false information” about Russia through her work as a journalist.
The U.S. National Press Club said: “Our joy at Alsu’s release is tempered by our anger that she was taken in the first place.”
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Russian politician, activist & journalist
844.
Kara-Murza has contributed to U.S. news outlets like the Wall Street Journal. He was accused of spreading false information about the Russian army and detained in April 2022. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail.
His supporters have criticised Putin’s efforts to “silence independent voices and crack down on civil societyand the media in Russia”.
Kara-Murza will be reunited with family in Germany.
Navalny
The U.S. confirmed negotiations had initially included plans for the release of former Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.
An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Navalny died in a Russian penal colony in February.
U.S. Vice-Presidentspoke with his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, commending her courage in “continuing her husband’s work for justice and the rule of law in Russia.” Some of Navalny’s supporters were released in the swap.
Swipe to see what the White House had to say about the prisoner swap:
Russians released
As part of the swap, eight prisoners have been returned to Russia.
Some were personally welcomed home by Putin at Moscow’s International Airport. This includes Vadim Krasikov, an assassin who’d been held in Germany since 2019. German prosecutors alleged Krasikov was ordered by the Kremlin to murder a man in Berlin.
Other released detainees include Vadim Konoshchenok, who had been extradited from Estonia to the U.S. on money laundering charges, and Roman Seleznev — a convicted hacker and fraudster who had been jailed in the U.S.
