US, Russia agree to prisoner swap amid high tensions between rival nations

The U.S. and Russia on Wednesday exchanged prisoners – trading a Marine veteran jailed in Moscow for a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving a long prison in America.

The swap is being reported by the Associated Press, based on information from what the wire service says is a senior U.S. official.

The deal appears to be unusually unexpected consider the U.S. and Russia are rival nations and it comes amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to which the U.S. is opposed, raising speculation about whether it is a sign of a possible peace negotiation.

As part of the exchange, Russia released Trevor Reed, a former Marine from Texas who was arrested in 2019 after Russian authorities said he assaulted an officer while being driven by police to a police station following a night of heavy drinking, the wire service also reports.