The USA and Russia conducted a large-scale exchange of political prisoners: the mass media learned the names

The USA and Russia conducted a large-scale exchange of political prisoners: the mass media learned the names

Kyiv  •  UNN

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The largest prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia since the Cold War took place at a Turkish airport. Among those released are journalists, politicians, and other citizens, a total of 24 people from both sides.

The largest exchange of prisoners between the USA and Russia since the Cold War took place at the Turkish airport in Ankara.Among the released prisoners are opposition politicians and journalists.The Turkish TV channel NTV writes about this, UNN reports.

Details

It is noted that today the Tu-204 plane of the Russia Flight Detachment (Russian Presidential Administration) landed in Ankara at 16:25.

According to a number of media reports, it was used to bring political prisoners from Russia to the Turkish capital for exchange with Western countries. 

Later, the Turkish TV channel NTV reported that the exchange of political prisoners had taken place. Some videos of the prisoner exchange have already appeared online .

Addendum

As reported by cbsnews , citing White House sources, the US is seeking to release  Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Hershkovich , Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsa Kurmasheva as part of the exchange.

The information about the exchange of Alsa Kurmasheva was confirmed by the president of Radio Liberty, Stephen Capus.

We welcome the news of Alsou's release and are grateful to the U.S. government and all those who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia. Alsou was targeted because she was an American journalist who was simply trying to take care of a family member in Russia. She had done nothing wrong and certainly did not deserve to be treated unfairly and forcibly separated from her family and colleagues

- said Stephen Kapus.

In addition, The Insider named the names of the alleged participants in the prisoner exchange

According to the newspaper, Russia will hand over 16 people to Western countries as part of the deal. They are politicians Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, former Navalny's chiefs of staff Lilia Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeeva, journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsou Kurmashova, artist Sasha Skochilenko, as well as Andrei Pivovarov, Vadim Ostanin, Kevin Leake, Paul Whelan, Oleg Orlov, Demuri Voronin, Patrick Schebel and German Mojzes, and Rico Krieger, who was previously pardoned in Belarus.

In exchange for them, Russia will allegedly hand over eight people convicted in different Western countries. These are the Dultsev couple, who confessed to working for Russian special services and were convicted in Slovenia, Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life in Germany for the murder of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, Pavel Rubtsov, who was imprisoned in Poland, Mikhail Mikushin, who was detained for espionage in Norway, and three men who were serving sentences in the United States - Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klushin and Vadim Konoschenok.

Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan released as part of the exchange between Russia and the United StatesAug 1 2024, 12:15 PM • 16201 view