Things to know about the largest US-Russia prisoner swap in post-Soviet history

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Russia on Thursday completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from other European countries who released Russians in their custody as part of the exchange.

Here are some things to know:

The 24 people — some prominent, some not — included a collection of journalists and political dissidents, suspected spies, a computer hacker and a fraudster. Even a man convicted of murder.

Russia released 16 people, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan. Both were facing long prison sentences after being convicted in Russia's heavily politicized legal system of espionage charges that the U.S. government called baseless.

Also freed by Moscow was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military — accusations her family and employer have rejected — and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated.

The most infamous of the eight people Russia got back is Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscow’s security services. It also received two alleged “sleeper” agents who were jailed in Slovenia, three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S. and two men returned from Norway and Poland.

That's unlikely.

The U.S. and Russia have reached several prior prisoner swaps during the course of Russia's war with Ukraine, including a December 2022 trade in which Moscow freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

But none of those exchanges resulted in a meaningful warming of relations, particularly at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to halt his aggression against Ukraine and as Washington continues to send significant military support to Kyiv.

Prisoner exchanges have been a rare source of compromise and an alignment of mutually agreeable interests rather than a reflection of anything broader. Even so, the fact that the countries were able to get the deal done at a time of open hostility is notable.

Though Thursday's deal involves the most well-known of the Americans held in Russia, including two who have been formally designated as wrongfully detained, there are still several others who remain.

That group includes Travis Leake, a musician convicted on drug charges and sentenced to prison; Gordon Black, an American soldier convicted of stealing and making threats of murder; Marc Fogel, a teacher also sentenced on drug charges; and Ksenia Khavana, who was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February on treason charges, accused of collecting money for Ukraine’s military.

Khavana had returned to Russia to visit family. The owner of the spa in California where Khavana had been working previously told The Associated Press that Khavana actually was collecting funds for humanitarian aid.

In a statement after the deal was announced, Fogel's family said it was “inconceivable” that he had not been included and urged the Biden administration to prioritize his release.

A senior administration official, who briefed reporters before the swap on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the administration would be redoubling its efforts to get remaining Americans home.

In prisoner exchanges over the past few years, the U.S. government has released criminals convicted of significant crimes, including drug and weapons traffickers and a Taliban drug lord.

The latest deal was no exception, with the U.S. and Western allies agreeing to hand back to Russia criminals regarded as properly charged and convicted.

The most notable example of that, by far, was Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.

At Krasikov's sentencing to life in prison in 2021, German judges said he had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport and the resources to carry out the killing.

Throughout the course of negotiations, Russia remained adamant about getting Krasikov back, making it clear that he topped the wish list. Putin hinted earlier this year that he was interested in such a trade to free a “patriot” held in Germany.

By contrast, the Americans and Europeans released by Russia include people who were either designated by the U.S. as wrongfully detained — like Gershkovich and Whelan — or generally regarded as held on baseless charges.

"Deals like this one come with tough calls,” Biden said but added: “There’s nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad.”

Central to the deal was a man who never got to be part of it: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

At the time of his death in February, officials were discussing a possible exchange involving him and Krasikov as a way to satisfy Russia's relentless demand for Krasikov and unlock the imprisoned Americans.

Administration officials described the sudden and unexplained death of Navalny as a setback to that effort, but drew up a new plan to present to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In the end, several associates of Navalny were released.

Biden had foreshadowed his commitment to a deal last week, when he said in an Oval Office address announcing his plan to abandon his reelection bid: “We’re also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.”

On Thursday, he basked in the success of a diplomatic feat executed in the final months of his administration as he welcomed the families of the returning Americans to the White House. In an apparent jab at the “America First” mantra of Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee, Biden said: “Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world.”

Trump, who during his presidency had also taken an interest in hostages and wrongfully detained Americans, claimed during the June debate with Biden that he would get Gershkovich out as soon as he won the election.

On Thursday, he bashed the deal, suggesting incorrectly on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. had given Russia cash for the deal.

“Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” Trump wrote.

In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service via RTR on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Paul Whelan, center, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges, is escorted by Russian Federal Security Service agents, left, as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow, Russia. (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service via RTR on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, center,is escorted by a Russian Federal Security Service agent, left, as they arrive at an airport outside Moscow, Russia. (Russian Federal Security Service/RTR via AP)

This photo combination shows, in the centre, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and clockwise from top left are Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Lilia Chanysheva, former coordinator of regional offices of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Memorial Human Rights Centre Oleg Orlov, artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin, government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service Alsu Kurmasheva and former head of Open Russia movement Andrei Pivovarov. (AP Photo)

This image released by the White House shows Evan Gershkovich, left, Alsu Kurmasheva, right, and Paul Whelan, second from right, and others aboard a plane, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, following their release from Russian captivity. (White House via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground right, walks with released Russian prisoners and relatives upon their arrival at the Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Mikhail Voskresensky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Joe Biden, center, delivers remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Tuesday that his country would send two dozen soldiers and police officers to Haiti this week to boost a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya to fight violent gangs.

The 20 soldiers and four police officers are scheduled to arrive Thursday and will join nearly 400 Kenyan police who arrived earlier this year and are working alongside Haitian police and military, said Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, chief of defense staff for Jamaica’s military.

The Jamaicans will be responsible for providing command, planning and logistics support, Holness said at a news conference.

Jamaica had pledged a total of 170 soldiers and 30 police officers, but Holness said it wasn’t possible to deploy them all at once.

“It’s not practical,” he said, adding that facilities to host those arriving and a command structure need to be in place before the full number pledged is deployed. “We want a very successful operation.”

The initial number of police and soldiers announced by Holness surprised many and comes at a time when the U.S. government has warned that the Kenyan-led mission lacks money and personnel as it considers a U.N. peacekeeping mission as one way to secure more resources.

In recent days, the U.N. and Ecuador circulated a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press asking the U.N. to start planning for a U.N. peacekeeping operation to replace the current mission. Such a proposal would have to be decided by the U.N. Security Council, which experts do not believe would approve it.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said “it’s very strange” that there is apparently no money available to support the Kenyan-led mission.

“I think countries should assume responsibilities and should come and provide the necessary funding,” he said.

Holness did not comment on the possibility of a U.N. peacekeeping mission but said the current mission “can be a long and extended process.”

He added that the mission is not the only or final solution to problems in Haiti, where gangs control 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

The violence has spread to other areas across the country, with more than 3,200 killed from January to May, according to the U.N. The ongoing violence also has left more than half a million people homeless in recent years.

“Haiti is the example of what could happen if states and governments do not take the problem seriously and put in place the measures and resources necessary to bring the problem under control,” Holness said.

Overall, the mission is expected to have a total of 2,500 personnel, with the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad also pledging to send police and soldiers, although it wasn’t clear when that would happen.

On Saturday, the Bahamas' foreign affairs minister, Fred Mitchell, told reporters that while the government hasn't wavered in its pledge, it's unclear when it'll deploy troops to Haiti given that the mission's dynamics have changed.

“One of the things the Bahamas has to consider is the new position of the U.S.,” he said.

The mission is expected to cost roughly $600 million a year, although the U.N. has received only $68 million out of $85 million pledged so far. The U.S. and Canada have provided the majority of funds for now.

Police officers patrol a street near the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

People walk down a street covered with trash in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenyan police officers, part of a UN-backed multinational, work to tow away a broken down armored car during an operation in the Delmas neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

The commander of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission Godfrey Otunge, right, and the Haitian National Police general director Rameau Normil chat as they await the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)

A Kenyan member of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission stands next to an armored vehicle moments before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrival for a meeting at the base in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)

A Kenyan member of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission stands next to a Haitian police vehicle donated by the U.S. government and damaged by bullet hits during patrols, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)