On Tuesday, MSN reported that Marc Fogel, an American teacher, held prisoner in Russia for three years has been released and is returning to America.
The article reports:
The Trump administration secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher detained for more than three years in Russia, in an “exchange,” the White House announced Tuesday.
The deal to release Fogel, who was designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department, was negotiated by President Donald Trump, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, “and the President’s advisers,” according to a statement from national security adviser Mike Waltz.
The statement did not provide any details about the “exchange,” other than to say it was “a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” The National Security Council declined to offer further details.
In an extraordinary move, Witkoff personally went to Russia to bring back Fogel, the statement indicated. There has been no known high-level US travel to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
The article concludes:
Fogel’s family said Tuesday they “are beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention” he is coming home.
“Thanks to the unwavering leadership of President Trump, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where he belongs,” Jane, Ethan and Sam Fogel said in a statement.
“This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal,” the family said. “For the first time in years, our family can look forward to the future with hope.”
America’s position on the world stage has obviously changed.