Prisoner exchange | Media: American journalist Gershkovich imprisoned in Russia on his way home – Rio: The plane used in the prisoner exchange has landed in Kaliningrad

in Russia American journalist sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage Evan Gershkovich may already be on its way to the United States, a US news outlet Fox News said late Wednesday night.

Fox News says the unconfirmed information came from Gershkovich’s employer, The Wall Street Journal, and that it was passed on to Fox News by the channel’s national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.

According to information, Gershkovich could arrive in the United States today, Thursday, August 1, as part of a prisoner exchange. The information provided by Fox News was also reported by the Reuters news agency and independent Russian publications Medusa and Mediazona and the Russian state-owned news agency Tass and a state-owned information office Ria Novosti.

For now, however, it is unclear where the information came from, as such information could not be immediately found on the pages of The Wall Street Journal.

Speculations about the preparation of a large-scale prisoner exchange, however, take more twists and turns. News agency, among others, reported on signs indicating a prisoner exchange that intensified on Wednesday Reutersa US magazine Politico and a British magazine The Telegraph.

The United States and Russia have both previously confirmed that they are negotiating for Gershkovich’s release.

Thursday from nine in the morning Ria Novosti posted on his Telegram channel an update in which it says that the plane used in the US-Russia prisoner exchange has landed in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave in Europe.

According to Ria, the plane in question was used in a prisoner exchange where a Russian arms dealer Viktor But was exchanged to the American basketball star to Brittney Griner at the end of 2022.

Independent Russian news site Agency confirms on its Telegram channel that it is a special flight under the administration of the Russian president, and that the type of plane in question has previously been used in a prisoner exchange. An independent Russian television channel is also paying attention to the flight Dožd.

The flights are followed in real time of the Flightridar website according to which the plane later returned from Kaliningrad back to mainland Russia. There is no confirmation that this particular flight is related to a possible prisoner exchange.

According to the Agency, at least six special flights of the Russian government have flown in recent days to areas where dissidents are in prison, Reuters reports.

Last daily rumors about a large-scale prisoner exchange have persistently intensified.

The news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday that in addition to Russia and the United States, Belarus, Germany, Slovenia and Britain would be involved in the possible prisoner exchange.

Independent Russian The Moscow Times on the other hand, reported on Wednesday evening about the estimate that Russia could be releasing up to 20–30 political prisoners and imprisoned journalists in the prisoner exchange with the United States and Germany. It says it received the information from a source familiar with the planning of the prisoner exchange, whose background, however, is not revealed in more detail.

Previously independent Russian media have speculated that around ten high-profile political prisoners were being prepared for a prisoner exchange.

There are at least ten behind the speculations transfer of political prisoner in Russia during the last few days. Their lawyers and family members have not been told the location of the prisoners, the start of the transfer or the reason for it.

The known prisoners, whose current whereabouts are unknown, have criticized Russia’s large-scale attack in Ukraine or were members of a deceased opposition leader To Alexei Navalny to supporters. For example, a Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murzaaopposition politician Ilya Yashinia and who served as the head of Navalny’s Tomsk and Ufa offices Kseniya Fadeyeva let’s be these lawyers and family members according to the information provided moving somewhere.

Also a former US Marine convicted of espionage in Russia Paul Whelan has disappeared according to this lawyer.

In addition, the information of four Russian prisoners was reported to have disappeared from the US prisoner database on Wednesday.

On the other hand, there is no confirmed information about the transfer of Evan Gershkovich.

The official ones the parties have not confirmed the rumors about the exchange of prisoners. Tass said on Thursday morning that the Russian Embassy in Washington did not comment on a possible prisoner exchange. On Thursday afternoon, the press secretary of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov stated A cup that he “still has nothing to comment on the matter”.

Missing from the US Prisoner Database Aleksandr Vinnik too the lawyer, on the other hand, says that he cannot comment on the exchange of prisoners “before it happens”, Ria Novosti tells.