Grapevine

By Al Jazeera
Aug 2, 2024

Who was freed in biggest Russia-West prisoner swap since the Cold War?

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been freed as part of the biggest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Paul Whelan, a former US marine, as well as prominent Russian opposition politicians and activists who had been jailed for criticising the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, were also among the 16 people released by Russia.

Most prominent of those heading back to Moscow was Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the assassination of a former Chechen rebel commander in a Berlin park.

Below is a round-up of all those freed.

Freed by Russia