Prisoner swap underway between the U.S., Russia, and other countries, senior official says

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Prisoner swap underway between the U.S., Russia, and other countries, senior official says

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, smiles from inside a glass defendants’ cage prior to a hearing in Yekaterinburg’s Sverdlovsk Regional Court on June 26, 2024. 

Natalia Kolesnikova | Afp | Getty Images

A prisoner swap was underway between the ******* States, 

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, and other countries on Thursday, according to a 

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 official.

The trade is a rare example of cooperation amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, including from sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Relations between the two countries had been strained before the invasion, following Russian interference in the 2016 election and its annexation of Crimea.

The most high-profile known U.S. prisoners in Russia right now are Wall Street Journal reporter 

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 and former 

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. It is not confirmed if they are part of this swap.

Gershkovich, 32, detained in March 2023, was convicted by a Russian court earlier this year and

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 in July.

Whelan, 54, who has been detained since visiting Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and had been serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony.

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#Prisoner #swap #underway #U.S #Russia #countries #senior #official

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