U.S.-Russia completes largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history

Canadian-born Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich were set free on Thursday, as the United States and Russia completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history.

The multinational deal involved 24 people. The exchange came after weeks of speculation.

One expert CHCH News spoke with says while it’s great news for families of those impacted some of the people the West released committed serious crimes.

Two dozen people were set free in the prisoner swap that involved the U.S., Russia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Belarus. The trade follows years of back-channel negotiations.

U.S. President Joe Biden said, “The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship, friendship. Multiple countries helped get this done. They joined the difficult complex negotiations at my request.”

Among those released were Canadian-born Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Whelan was detained in Dec. 2018 after travelling to Russia for a wedding. He was convicted of espionage charges, which he and the U.S. have said were false, and was serving a 16-year prison sentence.

Professor of international relations at the University of Toronto, Aurel Braun told CHCH News, “If you accept the premise, then I think there’s a lot of evidence to support that the people who are being released by Russia were held on trumped up charges or they are political prisoners. Then, in a way, Vladimir Putin is able to use hostages.”

The White House said eight prisoners were being sent back to Russia. Some say the U.S. paid a significant price in the deal. Among the Russians jailed in the West were alleged sleeper agents who lived double lives. In contrast, others were convicted of hacking computers and a man who was convicted in Germany of killing a former Chechen rebel in Berlin.

“Problem is that where this is very understandable from the perspective of the families. But if you’re a leader of a country, you have to ask yourself, what is the message that is sent? Is this providing an incentive for hostage takers? Because you pay a very high ransom. Is it something that rewards that kind of behavior?” Braun said.

Some analysts speculate that the Russian president wanted the deal to go through before the U.S. election. The exchange is the latest in the past two years, following a Dec. 2022 trade that brought WNBA star, Britney Griner back to the U.S. in exchange for a notorious arms trafficker.

Global Affairs Canada tells CHCH News that they welcome the exchange agreement. They add that they remain committed to to putting an end to the use of people as bargaining chips in diplomatic relations.