The exchange reportedly involves Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine veteran Paul Whelan
FILE PHOTO: Paul Whelan, charged with espionage, arrives for his trial at a court in Moscow, Russia on September 17, 2019. © Sefa Karacan / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russia and a number of Western countries, including Germany and the US, have reportedly agreed to a complex 24-person prisoner swap, the BBC and CBS reported on Thursday, citing a senior US administration official.
The exchange is said to include the release of three American citizens imprisoned in Russia, namely Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
In an updated article, CBS removed its original reference to the number of prisoners being swapped. It had claimed, however, that at least 12 prisoners being held in Russia were expected to be released to Germany, while Moscow will reportedly get eight of its nationals in return. This has also been reported by the BBC.
That number includes Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted of the murder of a former Chechen militant commander in Germany in 2021.
Jailed opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who holds dual Russian-British citizenship, is also reportedly part of the exchange, as his current whereabouts are unknown. Several media outlets have speculated that he could be in the process of being released.
The Telegraph has reported on Kara-Murza’s potential release, noting that a group of British MPs have been pushing the UK Foreign Office to secure his freedom. “The US has had Kara-Murza on their radar, but there are not guarantees,” one MP told the outlet.
Details regarding the timing of the prisoner swap remain unclear, but CNN has cited anonymous sources as saying that the exchange is already underway.
Moscow has so far refused to confirm or deny the exchange. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment to journalists on the topic of the prisoner swap, which is reportedly taking place in Türkiye.
Turkish NTV news outlet has claimed that ten prisoners are being sent to Russia, 13 to Germany, and three to the US, amid the mass prisoner swap taking place in Ankara.
The latest exchange appears to be the most significant of its kind between Russia and the West since December 2022. On that occasion, the US released Russian businessman Viktor Bout in exchange for American basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been convicted on drug charges in Moscow.