A major prisoner exchange between Russia and the West is under way in Ankara, according to the Turkish presidency.
It said Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine veteran Paul Whelan are among those being released.
Eight Russian nationals are expected to be returned to Russia from the US, Norway, Slovenia, Poland and Germany, including several with suspected ties to Russian intelligence.
Turkey – which said it had facilitated and hosted the swap – said 26 people were involved in the exchange.
There has been no public confirmation of the deal from Moscow, Washington or any European capital.
One of them is Vadim Krasikov, identified by German officials as a colonel in Russia’s FSB intelligence service, who is serving a life sentence for the 2019 murder of a Kremlin opponent in a Berlin Park.
Ten prisoners – including two minors – were relocated to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the US, according to Turkey.
It is thought the children mentioned are those of Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, a Russian couple recently convicted of spying in Slovenia, who are thought to be among those being swapped.
German citizen Rico Krieger, sentenced to death in Belarus then pardoned by President Alexander Lukashenko, and Russian political prisoner Ilya Yashin were also on the list, Turkey said.
The presidency added that all the prisoners were taken off aircraft, moved to secure locations under the supervision of Turkish security officials, then put on planes for their respective destination countries.
The exchange comes after days of speculation about a major swap between various countries, which increased after several dissidents and journalists jailed in Russia were moved from their prison cells to unknown locations.
These include Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin opponent with dual Russian-British citizenship, and veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov. They are also thought to be among those being released.
Although secret prison transfers are common in Russia, the multiple “disappearance” of well-known prisoners was unusual.
If all the releases take place, it will be one of the biggest exchanges between Russia and the West in history.
The last high-profile prisoner swap took place in December 2022, when US basketball star Brittney Griner was exchanged on the tarmac at Abu Dhabi airport for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been held in an American prison for 12 years.
The last comparable one occurred in Vienna in 2010, when 10 Russian spies held in the US were swapped for four alleged double agents held in Russia.
One of them was Sergei Skripal, a former military intelligence officer, later poisoned by nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in 2018.
Tensions between Moscow and the West have been high in recent years, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
