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CNN —Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva said she’s “finally being treated as a human being” following her release from Russian detention in a historic prisoner exchange between Washington and the Kremlin last week. “I’ve been waking up from that nightmare,” Kurmasheva told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” in her first television interview since her release. Kurmasheva rushed into the arms of her husband and daughters on the tarmac after greeting Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. The US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist had been detained in October 2023 and found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army – charges her family and employer deny. Kurmasheva and her husband, Pavel Butorin, have two daughters, including one who turned 13 just minutes after reuniting with her mother.

Persons: Alsu Kurmasheva, she’s “, “ I’ve, ” Kurmasheva, CNN’s Jake Tapper, “, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Kurmasheva, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Pavel Butorin, Tapper, ”, Pavel, ” Pavel, wasn’t, —, Gershkovich, haven’t, Vladyslav, Ihar, Andrey Kuznechyk, Kurmasheva’s, she’s, we’ll, Vadim Krasikov, Biden, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Carstens, Trevor Reed, Brittney Griner, we’ve, We’ve, ” Carstens, ” Sen, Lindsey Graham, Marc Fogel, Fogel, someone’s, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, Base Andrews, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Wall Street, RFE, Ukrainian Service, publication’s, publication’s Belarus Service, Belarus Service, ” Hostage, Biden, Hostage Affairs, US, Fox News, South Carolina Republican Locations: American, Washington, Maryland, Radio Free Europe, Russian, Kazan, Moscow, Ankara, ”, Russia, Crimea, publication’s Belarus, Minsk, Belarus, Germany, Berlin

While both numbers were more than any other nation, it was a slight step back by supremely high U.S. standards. No American man had won an individual gold this meet until Finke set his world mark. “The whole ‘the men’s team hasn’t won an individual gold medal’ [narrative] was in the back of my mind,” he told reporters. The U.S. team of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Caeleb Dressel and Hunter Armstrong took silver and France the bronze. “The wealth is just getting spread around, we’re not getting any worse,” said Dressel, who took home two golds and a silver from these Games.

Persons: Bobby Finke, Finke, hasn’t, ”, “, Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Caeleb Dressel, Hunter Armstrong, Dressel, we’re Organizations: Paris La Défense, U.S Locations: NANTERRE, France, U.S, Tokyo, Rio, London, Beijing, Athens, Sydney, Florida, Moscow, United States, China, Australia, Italy

☆ Russian submarine sunk in Crimean port, Ukraine claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Radina Gigova | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ukraine’s military has claimed it sank a Russian submarine in a port in Crimea, in what would be another major setback for Moscow in the occupied peninsula. The submarine Rostov-on-Don was hit in the port of Sevastopol on Friday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement Saturday. “The boat sank on the spot,” the General Staff said, without providing further evidence. The submarine was “severely damaged” in a Ukrainian missile attack in September 2023, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. In addition to striking the submarine, Ukrainian forces also severely damaged four S-400 anti-aircraft missile launchers on Friday, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

Persons: CNN —, Don, Don “, Mikhail Razvozhayev, Boris Rozhin, Kilo, Cedric Leighton, ” Leighton, Leighton Organizations: CNN, Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Staff, Fleet, Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Rostov, General Staff, Ukraine’s, Ukrainian Locations: Russian, Crimea, Moscow, Rostov, Sevastopol, Russia, Ukraine, ”, Ukrainian

☆ Ukrainian military says it attacked Russian airfield, oil depots
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine's military said on Saturday it had attacked Russia's Morozovsk airfield and a number of oil depots and fuel storage facilities in three Russian regions overnight. The attack on the airfield hit an ammunition depot where Russian forces stored guided aerial bombs among other equipment, the military said. The attack on oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions set fire to at least two oil tanks, according to the Ukrainian military report. The regional governor of Belgorod also said Ukraine-launched drones caused a fire at an oil storage depot there, adding that the fire was extinguished and no one was injured. Ukraine has dramatically stepped up its use of long-range drones this year to attack Russian oil facilities, attempting to damage sites fueling Russian forces and the country's economy in Moscow's 29-month-old invasion.

Persons: Russia's, Volodymyr Zelenskiy Locations: Toretsk, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov, Kamensky

☆ 3 Americans returned in Russia prisoner swap may face challenges
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Ashley R. Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Brittney Griner, left, and Trevor Reed, were released from detention in Russia in 2022 and returned to the United States in separate prisoner exchanges. Getty ImagesAfter the dust settlesWhelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva headed to Brooke Army Medical Center for medical evaluations and additional care for as long as necessary, a US official told CNN. The non-profit supports detainees and hostages while they’re still held in captivity and after their release back to the US, Cathcart told CNN. Matthew Heath was released from being detained in Venezuela in a prisoner swap in October of 2022. Matthew HeathReturnees might return to a different family dynamic than what they were used to, according to Cathcart.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Whelan, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva, Brittney Griner, Viktor Bout, Roger Carstens, “, ”, Matthew Heath, he’s, ” Heath, Trevor Reed, Griner, Liz Cathcart, they’re, Cathcart, ” Cathcart, ” Readjusting, Jorge Toledo, CNN reintegrating, ” Toledo, CNN’s Pamela Brown, who’s, they’ve, It’s, ” Arianna Galligher, ” Griner, you’re, Heath, CNN’s Simone McCarthy, Anna Chernova, Nathan Hodge, Jennifer Hansler, Rosa Flores, Colin McCullough, Nouran Salahieh Organizations: CNN, Base Andrews, Wall Street, US State Department, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Russian, Associated Press, Brooke Army Medical Center, Hostage, Citgo Corporation, The Ohio State University Wexner, Resilience, New York Times Magazine, Phoenix Mercury, ” Locations: Maryland, Russia, Russian American, Moscow, Prague, Radio Free Europe, San Antonio , Texas, Knoxville , Tennessee, Venezuela, United States, Heath, “, Cathcart

☆ Exchanged prisoner Yashin condemns his 'illegal expulsion' from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The prisoner swap, the largest since the Cold War, saw eight Russians, including a convicted murderer, exchanged for 16 prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails, many of them dissidents. "What happened on Aug. 1 I don't view as a prisoner swap ... but as my illegal expulsion from Russia against my will, and I say sincerely, more than anything I want now to go back home," he added. He was speaking alongside activists Vladimir Kara-Murza and Andrei Pivovarov at the freed prisoners' first public appearance since arriving in Germany. On their second day out of prison, where they had had limited contact with the outside world, Kara-Murza and Yashin especially seemed fired with resolve, and to have kept abreast of world events. Pivovarov agreed: "We will do everything to make our country free and democratic, and get all political prisoners released."

Persons: Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, Yashin, Putin's, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Andrei Pivovarov, Putin, Kara, Pivovarov, Dmitry Medvedev Organizations: Western, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Bonn, Russia, Germany, Moscow

☆ Olympics 100-meter final: Welcome to the the most intimidating start line in sports
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“I think it was the worst pressure you could ever be put under,” British former sprinter Allan Wells, who won 100m gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, told CNN Sport. “You run through it in your head thousands of times – the start, the gun going off,” Wells added. “It was the worst feeling you could ever have but still be in control of what you were hoping to achieve,” said Wells, one of only three British sprinters to win 100m gold at the Olympics. The legendary Bolt, winner of three consecutive 100m gold medal between 2008 and 2016, said that he would try not to overthink things. Bolt was famously relaxed on the start line, fist-bumping race officials and playing up to the crowd with gestures and poses.

Persons: crouch, Allan Wells, ” Wells, – you’ve, you’ve, Zharnel Hughes, cramping, Hughes, ”, Wells, Bolt, ” Donovan Bailey, Canada’s, ’ That’s, ” Bailey, Bailey, Michael Johnson, ’ ” Donovan Bailey, John Giles, Noah Lyles, “ Noah, ” Jo Brown, Lyles, “, Brown, she’s, “ They’ll, ‘, ” Noah Lyles, Yu, Christian Petersen, Kishane Thompson, Ferdinand Omanyala –, Sha’Carri Richardson, Shelly, Ann Fraser, Pryce, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Paris ’ Stade de France, CNN Sport, Olympics, NBC, Olympic, Olympic Games Locations: British, Tokyo, Atlanta, Seville

☆ Long Johns, Forensics and a Bound Russian Killer: Inside the Big Prisoner Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Mark Mazzetti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The private jet that took off from southwest Germany on Thursday afternoon was carrying a group that may have never expected to be confined together: police officers, doctors, intelligence agents, a senior aide to Germany’s chancellor — and a convicted Russian assassin. In the back of the plane, the assassin, Vadim Krasikov, sat with his hands and feet bound and wearing protective headgear; he was not heard uttering a word on the entire flight. At the same time, a Russian government jet was also headed for Ankara, Turkey’s capital, carrying officers from the F.S.B. intelligence agency and 16 prisoners being released by Russia and Belarus. At one point, one of the F.S.B.

Persons: —, Vadim Krasikov, “, Krasikov Locations: Germany, Russian, Ankara, Turkey’s, Russia, Belarus, Moscow

Why did Russian President Vladimir Putin greet the children of just-freed Russian spies in Spanish? In “The Americans,” two Russian spies posing as a married couple in suburban America run Soviet agents and collect intelligence, unbeknownst to their young children. President Vladimir Putin meets convicted Russian spies released as part of a prisoners' swap at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow. Their children attended an international school in Ljubljana and, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, were only told on the plane to Moscow that they were Russian. “To the bulk of the Russian public, the Russian president showed that he has not yet lost the remnants of adequacy and is capable of well-calculated, rational actions,” Gallyamov said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, “, ”, Ludwig Gisch, Maria Rosa Mayer Muños, Mikhail Voskresenskiy, Artem Viktorovich Dultsev, Anna Valerevna Dultseva, Evan Gershkovitch, Paul Whelan —, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, ” Peskov, ” Abbas Gallyamov, ” Gallyamov, — Putin Organizations: Vnukovo, Associated Press, AP, Kremlin, KGB, Federal Security Service, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, “ Locations: Russian, Slovenia, America, Soviet, Moscow, U.S, Europe, Ljubljana, Slovenia's, Moscow’s Vnukovo

☆ Children of Russian spy couple in prisoner swap only learned their nationality on flight to Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Anna Chernova | Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The children of two Russian intelligence agents, who were among the detainees released as part of a historic prisoner swap, only discovered their nationality when they were being flown to Moscow, the Kremlin said Friday. The pair had been posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia where they were convicted of spying. Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted them on the tarmac in Spanish as they didn’t speak Russian and didn’t even know who Putin was, according to Peskov. “When the children came down the plane’s steps – they don’t speak Russian – and Putin greeted them in Spanish, he said ‘Buenas noches,’” Peskov said. While living undercover in Slovenia, Dultsev posed as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gisch.

Persons: Artem Dultsev, Anna Dultseva, “, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, –, ‘ Buenas, ” Peskov, ”, Dultseva, bouquets, Dultsev, Vadim Krasikov, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Ludvig Gisch, Maria Rosa Mayer Munos, Peskov Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, CIA Locations: Moscow, Argentine, Slovenia, Turkey, Russian, Ankara, ”, Spanish, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Berlin, Ljubljana, United States

☆ Prisoner Deals Stoke Fears of Perverse ‘Incentive’ to Grab Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While loath to criticize any specific swap, current and former U.S. officials worry that strongmen like President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are exploiting America’s willingness to horse-trade for its citizens. “I worry about the incentive this gives nations to abduct Americans,” said Adam Hickey, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the national security division of the U.S. Justice Department. Speaking of the trend toward hostage trades generally, he added: “I don’t see how this doesn’t lead to an escalation or increase” in the practice by foreign governments. But practical alternatives are hard to come by, Mr. Hickey and other experts concede. In response to Thursday’s deal, former President Donald J. Trump suggested that President Biden had set a “bad precedent” by paying too high a price to Mr. Putin.

Persons: —, loath, Vladimir V, Putin, gunning, ”, Adam Hickey, Hickey, Donald J, Trump, Biden Organizations: U.S . Justice Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Germany, Berlin

☆ Russia pulled back weapons shipment to Houthis amid US and Saudi pressure
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For the Houthis to engage in that kind of weapons transaction, moreover, “would demonstrate to us a lack of commitment” by the Houthis to peace talks, the official said. Currently, the Houthis “appear to be drifting further away from a commitment to a negotiated peace in Yemen,” the official said. And while the imminent weapons transfer was pulled back, Russia did deploy military personnel to Yemen to help advise the Houthis over a three-day period in late July, the sources said. The Russians carried bags with them, but nothing that appeared large enough to carry weapons or weapons components, the sources said. It is not clear whether the Russian ships were carrying the equipment that Russia had been preparing to transfer to the Houthis before the Kremlin abandoned the plan.

Persons: “, Saudi Arabia’s pushback, Vladimir Putin, Biden, Oman — Organizations: CNN, US, Saudi Embassy, Kremlin, US Central Command Locations: Russia, Yemen, United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Moscow, Saudi, Russian, Ukraine, Somali, Shabaab, China, Oman

☆ Germany Grapples With ‘Difficult Decision’ in Prisoner Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The convicted Russian killer bounded off a plane in Moscow on Thursday, hours after Germany freed him in a wide-ranging prison exchange with Russia. Zurab Khangoshvili, the brother of the Chechen exile shot by the assassin, repeatedly scrolled through the video of the scene, watching from his home in Germany with profound sadness, he said. “That man killed someone here, and then he went back to Russia to a welcoming ceremony with this huge red carpet. It was unfair.”Germany played a critical role in the complicated trade that on Thursday secured the release of 16 prisoners to the West in exchange for eight prisoners to Russia. No part of that deal was more fraught than agreeing to release Vadim Krasikov, sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for killing Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Chechen separatist commander who had sought asylum in Germany.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Zurab Khangoshvili, ”, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili Locations: Moscow, Russia, Germany, ” Germany, Chechen

☆ Putin got a pretty great deal, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThe US claimed a major victory on Thursday, orchestrating a sweeping prisoner exchange with Russia that returned high-profile captives. Smiles in the KremlinAndrew Payne, a City University of London lecturer in foreign policy, told BI that Putin won the historic deal. "You could say in that sense that Putin got a better deal," Payne said. Though Putin won on a transactional level, the deal also greatly benefited Biden, Payne said. "For Biden, this deal signals that he's still in charge and still has what it takes to manage high-stakes diplomacy," he said.

Persons: —, Russia —, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Kremlin Andrew Payne, Putin, launderers, Payne, Joe Biden, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Tucker Carlson, Sergej, Gershkovich, Emma Tucker, Sam Greene, Biden, Donald Trump Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Business, City University of London, Krasikov, European Resilience Initiative, BBC, Street, King's College London, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Kremlin, Berlin, Georgian, German, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Gold and some non-dollar currencies start to shine, but it's not all about de-dollarization
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementThe amount of gold holdings in global reserves has doubled in just over five years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysis. "As the yellow metal carries no credit or counter-party risk, some deem it as being better insulated from financial sanctions, particularly those from the emerging world," wrote UBS' Czerwonko. Advertisement"The situation in competing jurisdictions is also dire; in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man can remain king," wrote Czerwonko. AdvertisementSimilarly, Bloomberg Intelligence said said a Wednesday report that a potential second Trump term could hasten a global currency regime change. "Any title toward isolationism in a Trump second term, such as altered US attitudes toward its role in NATO and international affairs would spur de-dollarization," wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analysts.

Persons: —, Alejo Czerwonko, Czerwonko, Trump Organizations: Service, UBS, Business, International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg Intelligence, Trump, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Swiss, Americas

☆ Joint Base Andrews: Three freed Americans back on US soil in Maryland after historic prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Elizabeth Whelan hugs her brother Paul Whelan at Joint Base Andrews following his release from a Russian prison. Alex Brandon/APPresident Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk with family members of the returning Americans to greet them at Joint Base Andrews. Today, their agony is over,” said Biden, who hosted the families of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House. Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva flew roughly 10 hours from Ankara, Turkey, on top of a three hour and 45 minute flight from Moscow to Ankara. This is typical protocol for wrongfully detained Americans who return home.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Whelan, Gershkovich, Harris, Biden, Kurmasheva, “, ”, ” Biden, Feedback Biden, CNN Whelan, Vladimir Kara, Murza, –, Vadim Krasikov, Elizabeth Whelan, Joint Base Andrews, Alex Brandon, Base Andrews, Brittney Griner Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Joint Base Andrews, Street Journal, US State Department, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Washington Post, Joint Base, Base, AP, White, National Security Council, State Department, Brooke Army Medical Center, Defense Department Locations: American, United States, Russia, Maryland, Moscow, Radio Free Europe, Germany, Poland, Norway, Slovenia, Gershkovich, Kara, Ankara, Turkey, San Antonio, PISA

☆ Zelenskyy says Russia is giving up on Kharkiv, months after Moscow tried to blow open the war's northeastern front
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has shifted its focus away from Kharkiv, concentrating instead on the east. His statement comes months after Moscow pushed into Kharkiv from the north with thousands of troops. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia has moved its focus away from Kharkiv and to the eastern front, with fighting intensifying near the city of Pokrovsk. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hasn't, —, Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Kharkiv, Pravda, Business Locations: Russia, Kharkiv, Moscow, Pokrovsk

☆ Putin greeted children of freed sleeper agents in Spanish as they had only discovered they were Russian on the flight to Moscow, Kremlin says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Putin greeted the children of Russian sleeper agents in Spanish as they landed in Moscow as part of a prisoner exchange. The children had only just learned they were Russian on the flight, a Kremlin spokesperson said. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementRussian President Vladimir Putin greeted the children of two Russian sleeper agents in Spanish as they landed in Moscow following a recent prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. The children had only just learned they were Russian on the flight home and could not speak the language, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, Russia's Tass news agency reported.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Tass, Business Locations: Moscow, Russian, Slovenia, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Putin’s Trader: How Russian hackers stole millions from U.S. investors
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPutin’s Trader: How Russian hackers stole millions from U.S. investorsRussian oligarch Vladislav Klyushin was the owner of a cybersecurity company in Moscow called M-13, but the firm was secretly a front for a hacking and insider trading operation that plagued Wall Street for years, generating more than $90 million in illicit profits. With exclusive access to the investigators who chased Klyushin around the globe, and an interview with a former Russian spy, CNBC’s Eamon Javers reveals the shocking details of this audacious criminal enterprise.

Persons: Russian oligarch Vladislav Klyushin, Klyushin, CNBC’s Eamon Javers Locations: Russian, Moscow

☆ Convicted Assassin Is a Russian Security Agent, Kremlin Acknowledges
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The convicted assassin who was the linchpin of the biggest prisoner swap in decades is a member of the most powerful security agency in Russia, the Kremlin acknowledged on Friday, and had served in a special unit with some agents who now guard President Vladimir V. Putin. The ties help explain Mr. Putin’s determination to free the assassin, Vadim Krasikov, from the German prison where he was serving time for murder. The effort culminated on Thursday when Mr. Krasikov and seven other former prisoners returned to Moscow after an exchange with Western nations that involved 24 adults and seven countries. Mr. Putin has not hid his admiration for Mr. Krasikov, who had been jailed in Germany since 2019 for the murder of a Chechen former separatist fighter in Berlin. In an interview in February, Mr. Putin referred to Mr. Krasikov as “a patriot” who was doing his duty by eliminating an enemy of the Russian state.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Vadim Krasikov, Krasikov, Dmitri S, Mr, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Federal Security Service, Mr Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Soviet, Germany, Chechen, Berlin

☆ Russia Released 16 Prisoners. Hundreds of Others Were Left Behind.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the 16 people released from Russian captivity on Thursday in a landmark prisoner swap, the exchange brought a moment of momentous relief. Hundreds of prisoners in Russia — including Americans and prominent Russian political activists, journalists and artists — are still waiting, hoping that another diplomatic agreement or turn of events might secure their release. One of them is Marc Fogel, an American history teacher who worked for almost a decade at the Anglo-American school in Moscow. In 2021, when trying to enter Russia, Mr. Fogel was arrested and accused of smuggling drugs after a small amount of medical marijuana was discovered in his luggage. In June 2022, Mr. Fogel, a native of Western Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug smuggling.

Persons: —, Marc Fogel, Fogel Locations: Russia, Russian, Moscow, Western Pennsylvania

☆ Opinion | Reflections About the Prisoner Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Journalists and Dissidents Freed From Russia in Swap of 24 Inmates” (front page, Aug. 2):As a former U.S. journalist in Moscow, I am naturally delighted that Evan Gershkovich is back at home after 16 months of wrongful detention in Russia. But it is galling to see him and other innocent Americans being exchanged in a Cold War-style spy swap for a trained assassin and long-term sleeper agents. Engaging in hostage diplomacy only encourages hostile governments to seize more Americans as hostages whenever they want to recover one of their own killers or spies. Even at the height of the Cold War, American journalists in Moscow never feared arbitrary detention in a K.G.B. It seems that the only language that authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin understand is reciprocity.

Persons: Freed, Evan Gershkovich, Vladimir Putin, ” Organizations: “ Journalists Locations: Russia, U.S, Moscow, American, Russian

☆ How the Russian prisoner swap that freed Evan Gershkovich unfolded over two years
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The effort took on extra urgency in March 2023, when the Russians arrested Gershkovich, a senior administration official said. Days later, NBC News reported that a deal that could have sprung Navalny, Gershkovich and Whelan had been in the works. After Biden and Scholz met on Feb. 9, Scholz told Biden he was on board. Vice President Kamala Harris also discussed the prisoner swap with Scholz, telling him that Krasikov was a critical component of getting a prisoner swap with Russia, a White House official said. That was when he called the Slovenian prime minister to make sure his country was ready to release the Russian in their custody.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Brittney Griner, Biden, Viktor Bout, Paul Whelan ’, Whelan, Paul Whelan, Antony Blinken, “, ” Blinken, Sergei Lavrov, Gershkovich, Blinken, Lavrov, ” Lavrov, ”, ” Gershkovich, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Olaf Scholz, Krasikov, Griner, Whalen, Joe Biden, Scholz, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Elizabeth Whelan, Sullivan, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Kurmasheva, ” Biden Organizations: Wall Street, Marine, AP, NBC News, Berlin, White, Biden Locations: Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Berlin, Moscow, Germany, Chechen, Russian, U.S, Nevada, Slovenian

☆ Champagne and cheers: The Wall Street Journal fought for Evan Gershkovich’s release for 16 months. It finally paid off
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

When official word made its way to The Wall Street Journal newsroom that Evan Gershkovich had been released from Russian custody Thursday, unadulterated elation washed over the journalists who had taken part in a 16-month-long pressure campaign to seek his freedom. Meanwhile, The Journal labored behind the scenes with President Joe Biden and his administration on efforts to secure Gershkovich’s release. The Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker reacts to the news of Evan Gershkovich’s release. Chase Gaewski/The Wall Street JournalRobert Thomson, chief executive of News Corporation, which owns The Journal, offered his “sincere gratitude” to the U.S. government for its efforts. “Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world.”Throughout it all, Gershkovich never lost his spirit as a journalist.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, “, ” Emma Tucker, Gershkovich, Vladimir Putin’s, Alexey Navalny, Alsu Kurmasheva, Gershkovich’s, Joe Biden, Emma Tucker, Evan Gershkovich’s, Chase Gaewski, Robert Thomson, Thomson, Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch, ”, Tucker, Biden, Evan, Almar Latour, Putin Organizations: CNN, Wall Street Journal, New York, American Radio Free, Radio Liberty, U.S, Street, News Corporation Locations: York, Russian, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Russia, American Radio Free Europe, Gershkovich

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch 'Putin's Trader' — the biggest insider trading ring on Wall Street is in the KremlinRussian oligarch Vladislav Klyushin was the owner of a cybersecurity company in Moscow called M-13, but the firm was secretly a front for a hacking and insider trading operation that plagued Wall Street for years, generating more than $90 million in illicit profits. With exclusive access to the investigators who chased Klyushin around the globe, and an interview with a former Russian spy, CNBC's Eamon Javers reveals the shocking details of this audacious criminal enterprise.

Persons: Vladislav Klyushin, Klyushin, CNBC's Eamon Javers Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Moscow, Russian

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