Maria Pevchikh, head of Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, confirmed that the opponent was to be released as part of a prisoner exchange with the US and Germany. The exchange, she added, was also supposed to lead to the release of two American citizens detained in Russia in exchange for Vadim Krasikov, former colonel of the Russian security services FSB, detained in Germany for murder.
The agreement could have been closed as early as the spring of 2023, but then only last December did active work begin again.