Inside the U.S. Effort to Free Trevor Reed From Russia

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The Wednesday release of Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine held in Russia for nearly three years, may have appeared sudden — but it was in the works for years, as CNN details in a new report.

The White House announced Reed's release on Wednesday, with Russia's Foreign Ministry saying his freedom was granted as part of a prisoner swap with Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko.

Reed was detained in Russia back in August 2019 and in 2020 was sentenced to nine years in prison for endangering the "life and health" of Russian police officers after a night of drinking — charges Reed has denied and which U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan called "preposterous."

Reuters reports that Yaroshenko was a pilot who was serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of drug smuggling in 2011. He has denied the allegations against him.

The exchange took place on a tarmac in Turkey and was, as Reed's father described, like something "in the movies": an American plane pulled alongside a Russian one, the two prisoners disembarked, and each was escorted simultaneously to the opposite aircraft.

CNN reports that Reed was greeted by Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, while Yaroshenko met a representative of the Russian government.

The exchange was without incident and, to outsiders, appeared almost swift.

But according to CNN, President Joe Biden had raised the issue of Reed's release with the Russians "three months ago."

Russia, meanwhile, had long expressed interest in getting Yaroshenko back from the United States, according to source who spoke to CNN.

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The efforts from the U.S. government were led in large part by Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan. Talks had been taking place for months but picked up speed just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as tensions rose in the area. The effort to get Reed back to America was hampered, however, by the invasion, which has led to fewer staffers at the American embassy in Russia.

Other factors that added urgency to the situation included Reed's deteriorating health and his family's activism — which led to a meeting with Biden, 79.

The Reeds are the only family of a detainee to secure a meeting with the president, according to CNN, which reports that Reed's father, Joey, believes that it was that meeting that made his release possible.

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In March, the Reeds made initial direct contact with Biden in a phone call after waiting outside the venue where the president was speaking on a visit to Texas. The president told them someone from the White House would be in touch, though after weeks without a call the family became frustrated, CNN reported.

So, they showed up at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House with a sign stating that they would not leave until they met with the president.

By midday they had a meeting set up with the president for that same day, CNN reported.

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A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday, according to CNN, that the president's decisions to commute the sentence of Yaroshenko, who was convicted of conspiring to import cocaine, was a "very hard" one.

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, Biden said Reed was now "free from Russian detention."

"Today, we welcome home Trevor Reed and celebrate his return to the family that missed him dearly. Trevor, a former U.S. Marine, is free from Russian detention," Biden said. "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."

Reed's mother Paula, meanwhile, took to Twitter to express her joy.

"It's been a very exciting day for The Reed family," she wrote. "Trevor is back in the USA."