Prisoner swap deal between US and Russia agreed

The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and a number of individuals are expected to soon be in US custody, Sky News' US partner network NBC News is reporting.

It comes amid speculation that jailed Westerners including American reporter Evan Gershkovich could be freed in exchange for Russian prisoners.

Details of the possible exchange remain scarce.

While we await more information about what is happening, here are some of the high profile people being held in Russia that have been the subject of speculation.

Evan Gershkovich

US journalist Gershkovich was first arrested and detained in March 2023 after Russia claimed he had been "gathering secret information" on orders from the CIA.

Russian prosecutors alleged he had gathered secret information on the orders of the CIA about a company that manufactures tanks for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, said the charges against him were false and his employer called the case a sham.

He was jailed for 16 years earlier this month after being convicted of espionage in a trial widely seen as politically motivated.

A former US marine, Paul Whelan has been in custody in Russia since he was arrested in a Moscow hotel room on 28 December 2018.

Police said they caught him "red-handed" with a computer memory stick containing a list of secret Russian agents.

He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison.

Mr Whelan, who also holds British citizenship, had pleaded not guilty, claiming he was set up by a sting operation and that he had been given the USB drive by someone else, thinking it only contained holiday photos.

The then US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan described the case against Mr Whelan as a "mockery of justice".

Vladimir Kara-Murza

A dual UK-Russian citizen, Vladimir Kara-Murza is being held in a penal colony in the Siberian city of Omsk on treason charges he says are politically motivated.

The opposition politician was jailed for 25 years on charges after making public remarks which were critical of the Kremlin.

His arrest in April 2022, weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, came as authorities ratcheted up their crackdown on dissent to levels unseen since Soviet times.

Mr Kara-Murza's wife and lawyers have repeatedly sounded the alarm about his health deteriorating in prison.

An associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Mr Ostanin was convicted on extremism charges in July last year.

He was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony after being found guilty of organising an extremist community and belonging to a non-profit that "infringes on citizens' rights," Mr Navalny's team said at the time.

Mr Ostanin was detained in November 2021, several months after Mr Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were labelled as "extremist organisations" by the Russian government.

-SKY NEWS