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Russia has released an American teacher from detention in a move the White House described as a show of “good faith” that would help talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Moscow on his private jet on Tuesday to negotiate the deal and secure the return of Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since 2021.
Once Witkoff’s plane had left Russian airspace, US national security adviser Mike Waltz issued a statement confirming Fogel would be back on American soil “tonight”.
“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the president’s advisers negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” Waltz said.
An aircraft connected to Witkoff had landed in Moscow earlier on Tuesday, drawing attention to the secret deal that was only announced as it left Russian airspace in the afternoon.
It was unclear what the US promised the Kremlin in exchange for Fogel’s release, and the White House did not provide further details.
His family said in statement they were “beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed” at his release, and praised Trump’s “unwavering leadership”.
Fogel’s American legal team said his release came “after years of bureaucratic inaction including consistent refusals to designate Marc as wrongfully detained”.
His Russian legal team said Fogel’s release “fosters hope for the improvement of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia”.
Fogel was arrested on charges of bringing medical marijuana into the country in August 2021. He began serving a 14-year sentence for the charges in 2022. Joe Biden’s administration classified him as wrongfully detained in late December.
The aircraft, which took off from Dulles airport at 5.40pm on Monday, is registered to a company linked to Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer Trump appointed to be his special envoy. The plane’s transponder reported a position near Moscow about eight hours later, at roughly 10am local time.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening said he was “already prepared for meetings with representatives of the United States”.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday that he would send his Treasury secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine to discuss American access to natural resources and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Bessent’s trip would mark the first to Kyiv by a member of Trump’s cabinet since the president took office last month.
“This War MUST and WILL END SOON — Too much Death and Destruction,” Trump said.
