Russia to free Gershkovich and Whelan in major prisoner swap

Three US citizens imprisoned in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, are expected to be released on Thursday under a prisoner exchange deal.

Gershkovich, US Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will be released under the deal agreed by the Biden administration, a senior US official confirmed.

In total, the exchange will involve 24 prisoners held in Russia, the US, Germany and three other Western countries. The swap has not happened yet but is expected later on Thursday.

Eight Russian nationals are expected to be returned to Russia, including several with suspected ties to Russian intelligence.

One of them is Vadim Krasikov, identified by German officials as a colonel in Russia’s FSB intelligence service, who is serving a life sentence for the 2019 murder of a Kremlin opponent in a Berlin Park.

The swap comes after days of speculation about a major swap between various countries, which increased after several dissidents and journalists jailed in Russia were moved from their prison cells to unknown locations.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin opponent with dual Russian-British citizenship, is one of those detainees whose whereabouts are unknown which has fuelled expectations that he too could released.

Others potentially on the list are Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov.

Although secret prison transfers are common in Russia, the multiple "disappearance" of well-known prisoners was unusual.

Earlier this week, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned a German citizen Rico Krieger who had been sentenced to death for terrorism and other charges.

If all the releases take place, it will be one of the biggest exchanges between Russia and the West in history.