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Russia released the detention of an American teacher, a sign of what the White House described as “sincerity” that would help speech to end the war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Moscow in a private jet to negotiate a deal and secure the return of Marc Fogel, Mark Fogel Marc Fogel has been detained in Russia since 2021.
After Witkoff’s plane left Russian airspace on Tuesday, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz issued a statement confirming that Fogel will return to U.S. land “tonight.”
“President Trump, Steve Witkoff, negotiated a exchange with the president’s adviser, which showed the sincere performance of the Russians and we are in the right direction,” Walz said. Advance to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”
A plane connected to Witkoff landed in Moscow earlier on Tuesday, raising concerns about secret deals and was not announced until Tuesday afternoon when it left Russian airspace.
It is unclear the US promised Kremlin in exchange for Fogel’s release, and the White House has not provided more details.
Fogel was arrested for bringing medical marijuana into the country in August 2021. He sentenced him to 14 years in prison in 2022 on charges, and Joe Biden’s administration classified him as wrongly detained in late December.
The plane took off from Dulles Airport at 5:40 pm on Monday and has been registered with billionaire real estate developer Trump to be appointed as a special envoy. The plane’s transponder reported about eight hours later, at about 10 a.m. local time, a location was reported near Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday night that he was “ready ready to meet with the United States representatives.”
Trump said on his truth social platform Tuesday that he would send his finance minister to Ukraine to discuss the U.S. access to natural resources and end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Scott Bessent’s trip will mark the first time a member of the Trump Cabinet has arrived in Kiev since the U.S. president took office last month.
“This war must and will end soon – too much death and destruction,” Trump said.
