Key Points
Setbacks securing the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and other Americans held in Russia through a trade for high-profile Russians locked up in other countries have forced U.S. officials to refocus on a deal involving Russian prisoners in U.S. custody..
Hopes that Russia might trade for an accused spy in Brazilian custody were dealt a blow last month when Brazils government denied a U.S. request to extradite him..
U.S. officials have identified several other allied countries that have detained Russians who have ties to Russian intelligence services or are otherwise valuable, but the Brazilian example underscores the complications for the U.S. when a third country is involved..
Meanwhile, 25 Russian citizens are serving time in federal prisons, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons data reviewed by the Journal, and Russian officials have suggested that as many as 35 more may be held in state prisons, or as suspects and defendants in pretrial detention..
Some said they similarly thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would be more likely to consider a swap for Gershkovich after the 2024 U.S. presidential contest, in order to continue to sow discord in the U.S. Griner, who had been sentenced to nine years in a penal colony following her conviction on charges of possessing less than a gram of hashish oil, was traded in December for Russian convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout..
