• Roman Seleznev, a Russian hacker sentenced to 14 years in the U.S. for his significant involvement in a $50 million cyberfraud ring and $9 million hacking scheme that defrauded banks of $9 million. * Vladislav Klyushin, a Russian hacker convicted in a $93 million hacking scheme called "hack to trade" for which he was sentenced to 9 years in prison
• Vadim Konoshchenok, one of five Russians accused of conspiring to obtain military-grade technologies from U.S. companies. He is alleged to be operative of Russia’s Federal Security Service, (the successor agency to the K.G.B.). He had not yet gone to trial.

The Washington Post has this lengthy report on the course of the negotiations. The biggest stumbling block was Vadim Krasiko, a Russian hit man convicted of "gunning down" a former Chechen fighter in broad daylight at a park in Berlin. He was convicted and serving a life sentence in Germany.

Any day people are released from prison is a good day. It's even better when they have been unjustly imprisoned for political reasons.

And let's all blow some rasperries at Donald Trump who recently claimed only he could make a deal with Putin to bring Evan Gershkovich home, which he said he'd do the day after he took office in January.

Trump had previously suggested that he was the only one who could get Putin to release Gershkovich. In a May Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the Wall Street Journal reporter “will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office.”

“He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do