Russia freed US captives in a major prisoner swap, hailed by Biden as a ‘feat of diplomacy,’ but experts say Putin may have more to gain from it.
The US claimed a major victory on Thursday, orchestrating a sweeping prisoner exchange with Russia that returned high-profile captives.
The deal — the result of months of negotiations between the US, a slew of allies, and Russia — spanned 24 people in total.
Russia let go 16 prisoners, including Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
Russia got 8 people in exchange — one captive for every two it released.
But, experts said, the numbers obscure the true power dynamic at play: Russia regained dangerous operatives in exchange for relatively everyday figures caught up in events.Smiles in the Kremlin
Andrew Payne, a City University of London lecturer in foreign policy, told BI that Putin won the historic deal.
« The prisoners that Putin wanted back were hitmen, intelligence officers, money launderers, and lots of people who were serving the direct interest of the Kremlin », Payne said.
In contrast, Payne said, the prisoners that President Joe Biden wanted back were mostly journalists or people « who were arrested on comparatively flimsy and much less serious charges. »
A central figure in the exchange was Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov.
