A historic prisoner swap is underway between Russia and the West, with Western media reporting that journalists and political prisoners are being exchanged at an airport in Ankara, Turkey. Among those being freed in the exchange are U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Russian-U.K. opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Russian-U.S. journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. This swap is said to be the largest and most complex since the end of the Cold War, involving over a dozen individuals in total.
Reports suggest that between 20 and 30 political prisoners and journalists are expected to be released from Russia in exchange for Russians held in the U.S. and Germany. CBS states that 24 individuals will be part of the exchange, with at least 12 political prisoners from Russia set to be released to Germany and eight Russian nationals expected to be returned to Russia.
Among those expected to be freed from Russia are Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage despite strong denials of the charges, Vladimir Kara-Murza, serving a 25-year sentence for treason and other charges related to his criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges that were widely criticized as politically motivated. Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army.
The prisoner swap will also see the release of other individuals such as dissidents Lilia Chanysheva, Ilya Yashin, Ksenia Fadeyeva, and others, as well as German citizens and activists who were detained in Russia. On the Western side, individuals like Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen serving a life sentence in Germany for the killing of a Chechen rebel commander, Ludwig Gisch and Maria Rosa Mayer Munos, two Russians convicted of spying in Slovenia, and Pavel Rubtsov, a Spanish-Russian citizen accused of espionage, are among those expected to be returned to Russia.
The swap is taking place in Ankara, Turkey, with the coordination of the country’s National Intelligence Organization. Russian media reported that a Gulfstream business jet from Slovenia, carrying individuals sentenced for espionage, had landed in Turkey, and live footage from Ankara’s airport showed Russian planes believed to be carrying some of the prisoners involved in the swap. The exact details of the exchange and the identities of all individuals involved have not been officially confirmed, but the prisoner swap is seen as a significant development in the relations between Russia and the West.
