The United States and Russia carried out a historic prisoner exchange Thursday when two dozen detainees, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were released as part of a sweeping deal that involved at least seven countries.
Thursday’s massive swap was the result of years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the United States, Russia, Belarus and Germany, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to Moscow’s key demand — releasing convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov.
A total of eight people, including Krasikov, were sent back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention.
“Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close US partners and allies working together,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday.
US President Joe Biden called the deal “a feat of diplomacy.” He was joined in the White House by family members of Whelan, Gershkovich, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
