Russia on Thursday released a US citizen who had crossed into its Kaliningrad exclave in the first weeks of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last February, former US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson, who met the man at the border in Poland, said in a statement.
US Navy veteran Taylor Dudley, 35, was backpacking in Europe when he crossed the Polish-Russian border in April, Jonathan Franks, a lawyer who represents families of Americans detained overseas, said in an email to reporters.
Mr Dudley's circumstances while in Russia were unclear and his case had not been previously publicised.
The US State Department was aware of reports that an American citizen had been deported from Russia, said a representative who declined to comment further on the case, citing privacy considerations.
Mr Dudley's release at the Bagrationovsk-Bezledy border crossing comes as relations between Moscow and Washington remain fractured after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
WNBA star Brittney Griner was released by Russia last month in a swap for Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout after talks between US and Russian officials, but former Marine Paul Whelan remains in a Russian prison camp.
Mr Richardson, a former New Mexico governor and US ambassador to the UN who has helped free Americans detained abroad, met Mr Dudley at the border and worked on the case for months, according to Mr Franks and a statement from the Richardson Centre for Global Engagement.
“The negotiations and work to secure Taylor’s safe return were done discreetly and with engagement on the ground in both Moscow and Kaliningrad and with full support from Taylor’s family back in the United States,” the Richardson Centre said.
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Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said US basketball star Brittney Griner (L) had been traded for Viktor Bout (R) in a prisoner release exchange. AFP -
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies out of Russia on Friday, December 9, 2022. Russian Federal Security Service / AP -
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters about Griner's release. Reuters -
Cherelle Griner talks about the release of her wife. Reuters -
Mr Biden thanked his administration and the UAE, which enabled Griner's release along with Saudi Arabia. AP -
Griner in action in an Arizona game in 2021. Getty Images / AFP -
'Welcome home Brittney,' Mr Biden said at the White House. AP -
Viktor Bout in 2009 before his extradition to the US. AFP -
Nicknamed the Merchant of Death, Bout had been serving a 25-year sentence in the US after being convicted of conspiring to kill Americans and aiding a terrorist organisation. AFP -
Griner holds a picture of her basketball team from behind bars. AFP -
Griner in action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Reuters -
Mr Biden and others speak to Griner by phone after her release from Russia. Reuters -
Griner in action in Saitama, Japan. AP -
A Griner supporter at a WNBA basketball game in Chicago in August. AP -
Paul Whelan, a former US marine who was arrested for alleged spying. Mr Biden said he would would 'never give up' fighting for his release. AP -
The entrance of the IK-2 penal colony in Yavas where Griner was held. AFP -
The IK-2 penal colony. AFP
A US embassy representative in Warsaw was also present at Mr Dudley's release, according to Mr Franks, and the Richardson Centre thanked US officials, as well as businessman Steve Menzies, for helping secure Mr Dudley's return.
A spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry declined to comment on the case.
Kaliningrad is a Russian province sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania and is the headquarters of the Russian navy's Baltic Fleet.
