Marc Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, has been released and returned to the US.
Steve Witkoff, a Special Envoy for President Donald Trump, left Russia with Fogel and brought him to the White House, where Trump greeted him.
As he stood next to Trump with an American flag draped around his shoulders, Fogel said, “I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now.”
Fogel, who is from Pennsylvania and was expected to be reunited with his family by the end of the day, said that he would forever be indebted to Trump.
Trump said that another American would be released on Wednesday, February 11, 2025, though he declined to name the person or say from what country, only saying it was someone “very special.”
The US President declined to say if he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Fogel, but Fogel praised the Russian leader as “very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon.”
Asked about the terms of the deal, Trump replied, “Very fair, very, very fair, very reasonable. Not like deals you’ve seen over the years. They were very fair.”
Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence.
His family and supporters said that he had been traveling with medically prescribed marijuana, and he was designated by President Joe Biden’s administration as wrongfully detained in December.
Fogel’s relatives said that they were “beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed” that he was coming home. “This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal,” they said. “For the first time in years, our family can look forward to the future with hope,” he added.
A Negotiated Exchange
Michael Waltz, Trump’s National Security Adviser, said that the U.S. and Russia “negotiated an exchange” to ensure Fogel’s release.
He did not say what the U.S. side of the bargain entailed.
Previous negotiations have occasionally involved reciprocal releases of Russians by the U.S. or its allies.
Waltz said that the development was “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” Trump, a Republican, has promised to find a way to end the conflict.
Trump also has talked about having a good relationship with Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Last month, Trump said his administration was having “very serious” conversations with Russia about the war.
Speaking to reporters at the White House earlier Tuesday, Trump said, “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
Asked whether the U.S. had given up anything in return, Trump replied “not much” but did not elaborate.
The U.S., Russia and other nations carried out a large prisoner swap in August that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, among others.
However, that deal left out numerous other Americans jailed in Russia, including Fogel.
Some omitted then were also not included in Tuesday’s release, including several who have had major milestones in their cases since then.
Among them is U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana, who was convicted of treason in a Russian court shortly after last August’s prisoner swap and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine.
John Kirby, a national security spokesman at the Biden White House at that time, called the conviction and sentencing “nothing less than vindictive cruelty.”
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