Getty ImagesTurkey’s president has confirmed that a massive prisoner exchange between Russia, the United States and four European countries is taking place in Ankara.
Three U.S. citizens believed to be imprisoned in Russia – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Arsu Kurma Sheva – is believed to have been released.
In total, the exchange will involve at least 24 inmates.
Eight Russian nationals are expected to be deported to Russia, including several with suspected links to Russian intelligence services.
one of them is Vadim Krasikov, identified by German officials as a colonel in Russia’s FSB intelligence serviceSentenced to life in prison for the 2019 murder of a Kremlin opponent in a Berlin park.
German media reported that he was on a plane bound for Ankara, the Turkish capital.
The exchange comes days after speculation of a major exchange between the countries, which increased after several jailed dissidents and journalists in Russia were moved from their cells to unknown locations.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin opponent with dual Russian and British citizenship, is among the detainees whose whereabouts remain unknown, raising expectations that he too may be released.
Others who may appear on the list include Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and veteran human rights activist Oleg Orlov.
While clandestine prison transfers are common in Russia, the multiple “disappearances” of high-profile prisoners are unusual.
Earlier this week, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned German citizen Rico Krieger, who was sentenced to death on terrorism and other charges.
If all is released, it will be one of the largest exchanges in the history of Russia and the West.
The last high-profile prisoner swap took place in December 2022, when American basketball star Brittney Griner was swapped for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Viktor on the tarmac at Abu Dhabi airport. Viktor Bout, who has been in prison in the United States for 12 years.
The last similar incident occurred in Vienna in 2010, when 10 Russian spies held in the United States were replaced by four suspected double agents held in Russia.
One of them was Sergei Skripal, a former military intelligence officer who was later poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in 2018.
Tensions between Moscow and the West have been high in recent years, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
