On December 8, 2022, Russia and the United States conducted a controversial 1-for-1 prisoner exchange, trading Brittney Griner, an American basketball player, for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer. G
Viktor Bout in the custody of DEA agents on November 16, 2010, after being extradited to the United States
Brittney Griner in 2015.
Fans at the 2022 NWSL Championship were invited to write letters to Griner.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was later released in a different exchange
On 1 August 2024, the United States and Russia conducted the most extensive prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, involving the release of twenty-six people. The exchange was realized at th
The three American nationals released in the exchange are joined by government officials and staff on their return flight to the United States: Evan Gershkovich (bottom-left), Paul Whelan (second from right), and Alsu Kurmasheva (bottom-right)
Protest outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin demanding the release of Russia's political prisoners, February 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden and family members of the released Americans speaking with the prisoners by phone in the Oval Office, following the release of the Americans kept prisoner
Vadim Krasikov and others are received by a guard of honor at Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow.