A prisoner swap was underway between the United States, Russia, and other countries on Thursday, according to a senior Biden administration official.
The trade is a rare example of cooperation amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, including from sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Relations between the two countries had been strained before the invasion, following Russian interference in the 2016 election and its annexation of Crimea.
The most high-profile known U.S. prisoners in Russia right now are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. It is not confirmed if they are part of this swap.
Gershkovich, 32, detained in March 2023, was convicted of espionage by a Russian court earlier this year and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
Whelan, 54, who has been detained since visiting Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and had been serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony.
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