Russia claims US holds 60 ‘hostages’

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin says more than 60 Russian “hostages” are serving prison sentences in the US, the result of what he called an illegal global hunt for Russians by US intelligence services.

Vershinin’s remarks, made in an interview to Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA published on Tuesday, come as Washington seeks a new prisoner swap with Moscow amid speculation about the captives Russia may want to be freed in such a deal.

Vershinin did not touch on the possible scope of such an exchange, but said: “The total number of Russian citizens [in US jails], who have been in effect taken hostage, exceeds 60.”

He provided no evidence that the Russians’ sentences were politically motivated or otherwise unfair, but cited general anti-Russian feeling in the US and said that was his view.

Earlier in December, the US released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been serving a 25-year sentence, in a prisoner swap for Brittney Griner, a US basketball star jailed in Russia for drug offences.

US media reported that Russia refused to include Paul Whelan, a US Marine Corps veteran convicted of espionage in 2020, in the same exchange. Whelan denies wrongdoing and the US has said it is actively engaged in efforts to try to free him.

According to US media reports, Russia demanded the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted of the 2019 murder of a Chechen dissident in Berlin, in exchange for Whelan. German authorities reportedly refused to participate in such a swap.

Reuters