As part of the prisoner exchange, Russia has released American citizens – Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan. In Russia, they were convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources. The publication does not specify who else is participating in the exchange. In return, the US side must release several Russian prisoners. The exchange process took place at the Ankara airport.
"Russia is releasing <...> Gershkovich and <...> Whelan as part of a major prisoner swap with the United States. They are heading to locations outside of Russia. The United States and its allies will return prisoners to Russia",
Bloomberg said.
In addition to Gershkovich and Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva (also a US citizen) has also been released. She was convicted of fakes about the Russian Armed Forces.
The Russian side hopes to return Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, who were detained in Slovenia on charges of spying for the Russian Federation, as well as FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany. In total, 24 people from both sides were involved in the exchange.
Indirect evidence of the exchange taking place is the fact that the An-148-100E aircraft with the number RA-61727, which was already used in a similar exchange in 2022, left the airport in Kaliningrad.
