A significant prisoner exchange deal is set to free three US citizens held in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, on Thursday, August 1.
As per BBC, the deal, confirmed by a senior US official, also involves US Marine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
The exchange, which has not yet occurred but is anticipated later today, will involve a total of 24 prisoners from Russia, the US, Germany, and three other Western countries.
The deal follows increased speculation about a major swap after several jailed dissidents and journalists in Russia were moved to unknown locations.
Among those whose whereabouts are unknown is Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic with dual Russian-British citizenship, raising expectations that he too could be released.
Other potential releases include Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov.
If all releases take place as planned, this will be one of the largest prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West in history.
