West and Russia swap 24 prisoners, including FSB agent

At around 11:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the U.S., Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter who had been imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges since March last year, returned home after 491 days. He warmly greeted his family, colleagues, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris at the airport.

On this day, a total of 16 individuals imprisoned in Russia were released, including three Americans, one U.S. permanent resident, five Germans, and seven Russian dissidents. In return, the West sent eight individuals, including Vadim Krasikov, an FSB agent imprisoned in Germany for the murder of a Chechen figure, back to Russia. The exchange took place in Türkiye. This marked the first large-scale prisoner exchange between the West and Russia since the Cold War.

Notably, Krasikov was specifically identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a key exchange target. The negotiations involved the U.S., Germany, Russia, Türkiye, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Belarus. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt played roles in persuading German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Additionally, former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson mentioned this issue to President Putin during an interview in February, according to the WSJ.


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