The Kremlin on Feb. 11 released Marc Fogel, a U.S. schoolteacher jailed in Russia on drug charges, in a deal negotiated with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, was arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possessing marijuana, which his family and supporters say was prescribed for medical use. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Russia released Fogel on Feb. 11 in an "exchange," U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.
Witkoff flew Fogel out of the country on his own private plane, marking the first known visit of a U.S. official to Moscow since 2021. The details of the exchange deal with Russia have not been disclosed.
The U.S. government officially classified Fogel as "unjustly detained" in December 2024, a classification that typically increases diplomatic efforts to secure a detainee’s release.
Fogel's family pushed for the designation after Fogel was excluded from a high-profile prisoner swap in August 2024 that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan.
In a statement following the release, Fogel's family thanked Trump for arranging the deal.
"We are beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband, and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home," the statement read.
While U.S. officials have not said what Russia is gaining in exchange for Fogel's release, Waltz said the deal was a sign that Trump was making progress in his attempts to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
"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," he said.
The release of Fogel comes days after Trump claimed to have spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war. The Kremlin has not confirmed or denied the alleged conversations.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in December 2024, following Trump's election but before his inauguration, that Moscow would be open to participating in another prisoner exchange with the U.S.
Russia has arrested many U.S. nationals since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, with several Americans now serving lengthy sentences or awaiting trial. Under former President Joe Biden, the White House accused Moscow of orchestrating the arrests in hopes of future prisoner swaps for Russians held in the U.S.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
