Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) was behind the most prominent prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War. Security sources say the swap in the capital of Ankara, on Aug. 1 resulted from comprehensive preparations, including two meetings between representatives of the involved countries in the two months prior in Istanbul and Ankara.
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden wanted to watch the operation live, and Türkiye complied, rescheduling it to 9 p.m. Turkish time, which corresponds to 10 a.m. in Washington D.C. Biden immediately called his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his first contact with released prisoners.
The swap involved 26 prisoners in prisons in the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.
Sources said both the U.S. and Russia wanted the swap to take place in Türkiye, something attributed to their confidence in the country due to MIT’s trustworthy work, especially in similar prison swaps in the past that went smoothly, and the Organization’s accomplishment in maintaining secrecy in such operations. Türkiye assured the U.S. and Russia that the statement on the swap would not be made public before the two countries confirmed it.
Esenboğa Airport in the capital was chosen due to its location, which can provide space far from prying eyes to keep the swap confidential and ensure security. On August 1, seven airplanes, two from the U.S. and one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia, arrived in Türkiye, carrying prisoners. Some prisoners were directly transferred from one plane to another to complete the swap, while some were taken to rooms in the airport specifically set up by MIT for the operation. MIT personnel handled the entire process, which involved the prisoners’ health checks and the confirmation of their identities. Some prisoners transferred from Russia had prison uniforms when they arrived and MIT aided them in replacing uniforms with civilian clothes brought by the U.S. side.
MIT director Ibrahim Kalın held a phone call with Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, 15 days before the swap, and Sullivan conveyed the US president’s request to follow the swap live. Biden and released prisoners made a phone call at Esenboğa before prisoners were subsequently released into Russia, Germany and the U.S.
The swap was important not only because of the large number of exchanged individuals but also because of the prominence of those involved. Each swapped individual has a unique story and is significant for their respective countries.
One notable figure is Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter frequently mentioned in global media. Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges while working as a reporter there. Russian authorities accused him of collecting secret information about a defense company involved in military equipment production and repair in the Sverdlovsk region. Gershkovich became the first foreign media worker in Russian history to be arrested on espionage charges. At the time of the swap negotiations, Russia sentenced him to 19 years in prison.
Another individual who returned to the U.S. in the swap was Paul Whelan, a former Marine. Whelan, who served for eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 on espionage charges. Canada-born Whelan had citizenship in the U.S., Britain and Ireland. When he was arrested in a Moscow hotel, he had a hard disk allegedly containing confidential information. He claimed a Russian friend gave it to him. In 2022, there were discussions about swapping Whelan for Viktor Bout, who was serving a 10-year sentence in the U.S. for illegal arms trafficking and terrorism financing. However, Whelan was not on the swap list, leading to significant public backlash against the Biden administration.
Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with both U.S. and Russian citizenship, was another person who returned to the U.S. Kurmasheva was detained at an airport in May 2023 while attempting to return to Czechia from Russia due to family reasons. She was convicted on charges of "failing to report as a foreign worker" and "disinformation."
Rico Krieger, who worked for the Red Cross, was detained in Belarus during the Russia-Ukraine war. Krieger claimed he was visiting Belarus as a tourist, but Russia alleged this was a cover for espionage. According to Russia, Krieger was involved with Ukrainian security services. Convicted on six separate charges, Krieger was sentenced to death in Belarus on June 24, 2024, for "terrorism and mercenary activities." Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko later granted clemency. Krieger returned to Germany two days after his pardon through the swap operation in Türkiye.
Another significant figure who returned to Germany in the historic swap was Ilya Yashin. Yashin, a Russian citizen and former mayor of Krasnoselsky, was a close ally of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Yashin was convicted in December 2022 for spreading "false information" about the Russian military.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was another key individual who returned to Germany in the swap. Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years in prison, was arrested in April 2022 on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian military, collaborating with an "undesirable organization," and treason. His conviction was widely condemned internationally. While imprisoned, Kara-Murza also wrote articles for The Washington Post.
Vadim Krasikov, a significant figure for Russia, was the only individual brought back from Germany in the swap operation. Krasikov was sent to Berlin by the FSB, receiving special training to assassinate Chechen opposition fighter Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, whom Russian President Putin had labeled a terrorist. In 2019, Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison for killing Khangoshvili in Germany. Initially denying any connection to Russia, Krasikov was later praised by Putin as a "patriot." There were also discussions about swapping Krasikov for opposition politician Alexei Navalny before his death.
A couple with two children working for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) was included in the historic swap. Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva were caught in Slovenia with false Argentine passports. Anna Dultseva, using the alias Maria Rosa Mayer Munoz, was pretending to be an art gallery owner in Slovenia. The family, along with their two children, was handed over to Russian officials through the swap operation. The children learned they were Russian only after arriving in Türkiye with their parents. Putin welcomed them in Spanish when they arrived in Russia, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
