Turkiye facilitates large-scale Russian-West prisoner swap involving 26 individuals from seven countries

Turkish news television NTV reported that prisoners from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus participated in the exchange. According to journalists, ten hostages, including two children, will go to Russia, 13 to Germany, and three to the United States.

The TRT Haber TV channel claims that convicts from different countries arrived on seven airplanes.

Russian outlet The Insider published a full list of prisoners released by Russia earlier. Among the released political prisoners are:

• Evan Gershkovich
• Vladimir Kara-Murza
• Lilia Chanysheva
• Ilya Yashin
• Ksenia Fadeeva
• Andrei Pivovarov
• Paul Whelan
• Alsu Kurmasheva
• Oleg Orlov
• Aleksandra Skochilenko
• Demuri Voronin (Dieter Woronin)
• Kevin Lik
• Rico Krieger
• Patrick Schobel
• German Moyzhes
• Vadim Ostanin

Western countries agreed to return:

• Vadim Krasikov (from Germany)
• Artem Dultsev (from Slovenia)
• Anna Dultseva (from Slovenia)
• Mikhail Mikushin (from Norway)
• Pavel Rubtsov (from Poland)
• Roman Seleznev (from the United States)
• Vladislav Kliushin (from the United States)
• Vadim Konoshchenko (from the United States).

Potential mass prisoner exchange between Russia, the United States, Belarus, and Germany

Radio Svoboda earlier reported that several Russians convicted of crimes in the U.S. have disappeared from American prison databases. This occurred alongside the disappearance of several political prisoners from Russian colonies.

The individuals missing from the U.S. database include Vladislav Klyushin, a contractor for Russian security agencies convicted of stock trading; Alexander Vinnik, convicted of laundering $4 billion through cryptocurrency exchanges; Maxim Marchenko, convicted of circumventing American sanctions through cyber fraud; Roman Seleznev, son of Russian State Duma MP Valery Seleznev; and several others.

Eight aircraft from the Russian presidential flight unit "Rossiya" recently flew out from the regions where these prisoners were held, suggesting a possible large-scale exchange.

Slovenian television channel N1 also reported that a prisoner exchange between Russia, Belarus, Germany, and the U.S. might occur on July 31.

WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich is reportedly among those involved in the exchange.

Russia might receive Vadim Krasikov, a secret service operative from the FSB, in return.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced on July 30 the pardon of German citizen Rico Krieger, who had been sentenced to death in connection with an explosion at a railway station in Ozerishche near Minsk in October 2023.

On the same day, Russian human rights defenders noted that six political prisoners disappeared from colonies and detention centers in Russia over the past two days. It is believed they may have been transferred. Human rights activists also speculated that Russia could be preparing for an exchange.

Russian media reported that on Aug. 1, a Russian An-148 aircraft, previously used to exchange prisoners with the West, took off from Moscow to Kaliningrad. There could have been 20 to 30 people on board.