Russia releases US Marine vet in surprise prisoner exchange

By ERIC TUCKER and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia and the United States have exchanged prisoners. Russia released a Marine veteran jailed by Moscow while the U.S. released a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving a prison sentence in Connecticut. Wednesday’s exchange occurred as Russia’s war with Ukraine has driven relations with the U.S. to their lowest point in decades. Russia gave up Trevor Reed, a Texas resident arrested in 2019 after Russian authorities said he assaulted an officer. The U.S. returns Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who’d been serving 20 years for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. President Joe Biden says negotiations for Reed’s release “required difficult decisions.” Americans still jailed in Russia include WNBA star Brittney Griner.