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Russian authorities have released American citizen Marc Fogel from prison, according to a White House statement shared on Twitter by U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Fogel has already “left Russian airspace” aboard a plane with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East.
The statement also confirms that Fogel was freed as part of an “exchange” — though it did not specify who was traded to Moscow in return. The White House described Fogel’s release as a “show of good faith” and a “sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”
Earlier today, reports emerged that Witkoff’s Gulfstream G650ER private jet, bearing the tail number N103WG, had landed in Moscow. Some Russian Telegram channels speculated that Witkoff might be in Russia to discuss a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed these claims, saying that no meetings between Witkoff and Russian authorities were planned.
Marc Fogel is a former schoolteacher and a staff member at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. In 2021, he was arrested at the border with 17 grams of medical marijuana in his luggage, which he had been using for chronic pain treatment as prescribed by a doctor. In 2022, a Russian court sentenced Fogel to 14 years in prison on drug smuggling charges.