2024 Russian prisoner exchange

The three released American citizens together with government officials and staff on their return flight to the U.S.

On 1 August in 2024, the largest prisoner exchange involving the United States since the end of the Cold War occurred, involving the release of twenty-six people. Following at least six months of secret multilateral negotiations, Russia and Belarus released sixteen detainees while the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Norway collectively released eight detainees and two minors. Among those released were Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who had each received sixteen-year sentences for espionage.

The prisoner exchange, which has been described as one of the most complex in history, took place at Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Turkey. Under the terms of the agreement, the eight Russian nationals and two minors were transferred to Russia, while thirteen Russian-held prisoners were released to Germany and three to the U.S.

Background

See also: Second Cold War and Russia–United States relations

During the Cold War, the U.S. and Soviet Union routinely exchanged prisoners, who were typically spies. However, over the last two decades, such trades have increasingly involved dissidents and individuals deemed by the United States to have been "wrongfully detained" by Russia.

Since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, and especially following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several prisoner trades between the U.S. and Russia have taken place. Since 2012, the Russian foreign agent law has been used to persecute those considered to be under foreign influence, officially classifying them as foreign agents; these powers were expanded in 2024. The foreign policy of Vladimir Putin in relation to post-Soviet states envisages Russia in a leadership role and opposes NATO enlargement there. According to Western analysts, Belarus acts on the Kremlin's demand under the Russian-dominated supranational "Union State".

On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading "fake news" about Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Thousands of Russians have been prosecuted under this law for criticizing the war in Ukraine, including opposition politician Ilya Yashin and artist Aleksandra Skochilenko.

Prisoner exchange

Negotiations and preparation

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob separately during the Munich Security Conference in February 2024 to privately discuss the negotiations. During a subsequent February 2024 trip by Scholz to Washington, D.C., the German and American governments began working on how to negotiate an agreement that would include the freeing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. After Navalny's death later that month—explained by his allies as a killing to prevent the exchange—the proposal turned to focus on other prisoners.

U.S. President Biden and family members of the released Americans speaking with the prisoners by phone in the Oval Office, following the release of the Americans kept prisoner

On 21 July, American president Joe Biden called Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob to secure the necessary pardons for two Russian spies held in the country that were to be exchanged as part of the swap.

In the days leading up to the exchange, three Russians were transferred from facilities operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to the United States Marshals Service.

Turkey served as a mediator, according to the Directorate of Communications.

Individuals released

Twenty-six individuals, including two minors believed to be the children of the two Russian spies in Slovenia, were released. Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina were not included as part of the exchange. Individuals returning to Russia are from various countries: the United States, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, and Norway.

Released by Russia and Belarus

The following people were released by Russia and Belarus:

Prisoners previously held by Russia and Belarus

Name	Nationality	Country detained in	Held since	Occupation	Charges	Prison Sentence
Lilia Chanysheva	Russia	Russia	2021	Regional coordinator of Navalny Headquarters in Ufa	Extremism	9.5 years
Ksenia Fadeeva	Russia	Russia	2021	Regional coordinator of Navalny Headquarters in Tomsk	Extremism	9 years
Vadim Ostanin	Russia	Russia	2021	Regional coordinator of Navalny Headquarters in Barnaul	Extremism	9 years
Evan Gershkovich	United States	Russia	2023	Reporter for The Wall Street Journal	Espionage	16 years
Vladimir Kara-Murza	Russia United Kingdom	Russia	2022	Opposition politician	Treason	25 years
Rico Krieger	Germany	Belarus	2024	Red Cross Employee	Terrorism	Death
Alsu Kurmasheva	Russia United States	Russia	2023	Journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty	Spreading false information about the Russian military	6.5 years
Kevin Lik	Russia Germany	Russia	2023	High school student	Treason	4 years
Herman Moyzhes	Russia Germany	Russia	2024	Immigration lawyer	Treason	Not brought to trial
Oleg Orlov	Russia	Russia	2024	Human rights activist	Discrediting the Russian Military	2.5 years
Andrei Pivovarov	Russia	Russia	2021	Head of Open Russia political organization	Carrying out activities of an undesirable organization	4 years
Patrick Schoebel	Germany	Russia	2024	German national (other details unknown)	Drug smuggling	Not brought to trial
Alexandra Skochilenko	Russia	Russia	2023	Artist and author	Spreading false information about the Russian military	7 years
Demuri Voronin	Russia Germany	Russia	2021	Political scientist	Treason	13 years and 3 months
Paul Whelan	United States	Russia	2018	Security executive and former Marine	Espionage	16 years
Ilya Yashin	Russia	Russia	2022	Opposition politician	Spreading false information about the Russian military	8.5 years

Russian citizens released by Western countries

The following people were released by Western countries:

Prisoners previously held by the West

Name	Nationality	Country detained in	Held since	Occupation	Charges	Prison Sentence
Artem Dultsev	Russia	Slovenia	2022	Undercover spies, SVR	Espionage	19 months
Anna Dultseva
Pablo González (Pavel Rubtsov)	Russia Spain	Poland	2022	Journalist, suspected GRU agent	Espionage	Not brought to trial
Vladislav Klyushin	Russia	United States	2023	Businessman	Fraud	9 years
Vadim Konoshchenock	Russia	Estonia United States	2022	Suspected FSB officer	Conspiracy to evade sanctions	Not sentenced
Vadim Krasikov	Russia	Germany	2021	FSB officer and murderer of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili	Murder	Life in prison
Mikhail Mikushin	Russia	Norway	2022	Researcher, suspected GRU agent	Espionage	Not brought to trial
Roman Seleznev	Russia	Maldives United States	2014	Hacker	38 charges related to hacking	27 years

Responses

United States

U.S. president Joe Biden delivered remarks following the exchange

In the United States, Republican representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, praised the exchange and stated that Russian president Vladimir Putin had a strategy of detaining individuals for negotiations.

Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump called the exchange "a win for Putin" and said that it "sets a very bad precedent". He also questioned if money was involved in the deal. His running mate, JD Vance, however, called the exchange "great news", and said that Trump deserved credit for it, claiming Putin was motivated to "clean house" by fear of a future Trump presidency.

News of the exchange was broken by Bloomberg prior to the plane's landing in Turkey; this was criticized by other outlets because information provided by the White House to journalists was embargoed until the individuals were successfully released.

Germany

Freed as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West, the opposition figures, Andrei Pivovarov, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, had mixed feelings about the deal. Kara-Murza stated that article 61 of the Constitution of Russia forbids to deport citizens if they do not approve. None of them did so or was even asked to do so. Yashin added that he is Russian, a Russian politician, and sees himself as a patriot, whose place is in Russia.

Yashin said it was hard to accept that he was free "because a murderer was free" — a reference to Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of killing a former Chechen militant in Berlin in 2019 and released as part of the deal.

They were flown to Germany after being released and met by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Bonn Cologne airport.

"It was not easy for anyone to make this decision to deport a murderer sentenced to life imprisonment after only a few years in prison," Scholz said at the airport. He added he took the decision out of an obligation to protect German nationals and solidarity with the United States.

Kara-Murza defended Scholz's decision, saying the only thing that matters is that human lives were saved by going through with the agreement.

Organizations

Reporters Without Borders stated that Gershkovich "should have never spent a single day in a Russian prison", and their director of campaigns Rebecca Vincent called his arrest "outrageous". The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom celebrated his expected release. Committee to Protect Journalists chief executive Jodie Ginsberg requested the release of all detained journalists in Russia.

See also

• Roger D. Carstens, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs
• List of American people imprisoned abroad
• Russian spies in the Russo-Ukrainian War
• Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange

Further reading

• Parkinson, Joe; Hinshaw, Drew; Pancevski, Bojan; Viswantha, Aruna (1 August 2024). "Putin Wanted His Hit Man Back. A Mother Wanted Her Journalist Son to Come Home". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 August 2024.