The United States will release Russian national Alexander Vinnik in exchange for Mark Fogel, whom President Putin pardoned earlier, ABC News reports, citing a US official.
Vinnik's sentencing in California was initially scheduled for June, but a federal judge unexpectedly moved the hearing to Tuesday. The Russian citizen was being held at the Alameda County Jail in California.
The New York Post said citing a source within the US administration that US President Donald Trump approved Vinnik's release.
Background on Alexander Vinnik
The Exchange
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that US citizen Mark Fogel, who was convicted in Russia for drug smuggling, was exchanged for a Russian citizen imprisoned in the U. S. Fogel is set to return home in the coming days, at which point the name of the released Russian citizen will be publicly disclosed.