A former Marine who had been detained in Russia for roughly three years after being accused of crimes he denies committing has been returned to the United States in a prisoner swap.
Trevor Reed was arrested and charged with beating a police officer following a night of heavy drinking in the summer of 2019, and he had been detained since then, with both his parents and the U.S. government demanding his release. The U.S., in exchange for Reed’s release, agreed to return Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Connecticut for conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
“First and foremost, we’d like to thank President Biden for his kindness, his consideration, and for making the decision to bring Trevor home. The President’s action may have saved Trevor’s life,” Reed’s parents, Joey and Paula, said in a statement. “We’d also like to thank Ambassador John Sullivan and the Moscow Embassy staff for believing in Trevor’s innocence and for their zealous advocacy.”
“Today, we welcome home Trevor Reed and celebrate his return to the family that missed him dearly,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “Trevor, a former U.S. Marine, is free from Russian detention. I heard in the voices of Trevor’s parents how much they’ve worried about his health and missed his presence. And I was delighted to be able to share with them the good news about Trevor’s freedom.”
The president and Reed’s parents met last month after they got Biden’s attention outside of his motorcade weeks earlier. Joey Reed expressed concerns in a recent interview with the Washington Examiner that Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has tamped down diplomatic overtures, would hurt his son’s chances for freedom.
The prisoner exchange occurred in an undisclosed European country on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Two other Americans, Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, remain in Russian custody. The former has been detained on espionage charges that he denies, while the latter is a WNBA player who was arrested on charges of drug possession.
“[Reed’s] safe return is a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad,” Biden’s statement continued. “We won’t stop until Paul Whelan and others join Trevor in the loving arms of family and friends.”