A prisoner swap was underway between the United States, Russia and other countries on Thursday, a senior Biden administration official said.
The trade is a rare example of cooperation amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, including over sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian officials over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Relations between the two countries were already strained before the invasion, over Russian interference in the 2016 election and the annexation of Crimea.
The most prominent American prisoners in Russia at the moment are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan. It has not been confirmed that they are part of this swap.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 and was convicted of espionage by a Russian court this year. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
Whelan, 54, who has been in custody since visiting Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and is serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony.
One of the most high-profile prisoner swaps in recent years was the December 2022 trade of WNBA star Brittney Griner for notorious Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, an arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”
NBC reported in February that the U.S. was working on a possible prisoner swap between Russians and Americans that could have included jailed Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny, Whelan and Gershkovich. But those efforts were halted after Navalny’s death was announced on February 16.
This is a breaking story. Check for updates.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
