The release of US journalist Evan Gershkovich and 15 others in a historic prisoner swap was facilitated by a personal promise from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to US President Joe Biden during a visit to the White House. The plan, discussed on February 9, involved Biden asking Scholz to release Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian murderer serving a life sentence in Germany, as part of a complex arrangement involving six countries.
