Reuters has reported that a total of 24 individuals were involved in a prisoner exchange between Russia and some Western countries, including the US and Germany. Among those released were US citizens Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, and former US Marine Paul Whelan. As part of the exchange, Russian security service operative Vadim Krasikov was freed by Germany after being held in custody.
The prisoner swap had been the subject of speculation for several days, with prisoners being moved from their Russian jail cells to unspecified locations. Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist, had been sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony on espionage charges. Paul Whelan, a former US Marine with citizenship in four countries, including the US and Canada, was given a 16-year jail sentence in 2020 for suspected spying activities in Moscow.
Other individuals involved in the exchange included Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, opposition figures Ilya Yashin and Oleg Orlov, as well as activists like Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeyeva, Sasha Skochilenko, Kevin Lik, and Rico Krieger. Vadim Krasikov, the FSB agent serving a life sentence in Germany for murder, was also released as part of the swap.
Additionally, Roman Seleznev was found guilty of running a hacking scheme in 2017 that caused significant financial damages, while Vadim Konoshchenok faced charges related to procurement and money laundering on behalf of the Russian government. Husband and wife Artem Viktorovich Dultsev and Anna Valerevna Dultseva were arrested and convicted on espionage charges in Slovenia, each sentenced to 19 months in prison.