Navalnys Widow Calls for Historic Prisoner Swap During Trump-Putin Talks in Alaska

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, has urged leaders from Russia and the United States to make prisoner exchanges a central focus during their forthcoming bilateral discussions in Alaska.

«We cannot anticipate how things will progress post-discussions—results may either have a significant impact or fade from memory within a week. However, there is a way to ensure that this summit is remembered, regardless of the outcome,» Navalnaya stated in a video message released on social media on Friday.

«In order to accomplish this, you must undertake an irreversible action, something that cannot be reversed… Specifically: initiate a new round of prisoner swaps,» she emphasized.

Navalnaya pointed out that an in-person meeting provides a rare chance to finalize an agreement without the lengthy process of «shuttle diplomacy» by simply exchanging the lists of prisoners for potential swaps.

«I am aware that those lists are already prepared,» she stated.

The opposition figure, whose husband passed away in a remote Arctic prison last year under mysterious circumstances, called for the release of Russian political prisoners and journalists, as well as Ukrainian individuals who are currently in the Russian penal system.

«This action will be etched in history… you must simply take it,» Navalnaya concluded.

Since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, Washington and Moscow have successfully conducted two prisoner exchanges.

In February, the U.S. facilitated the release of Marc Fogel, an American educator imprisoned in Russia on drug-related charges, in exchange for Russian cryptocurrency figure Alexander Vinnik.

In April, Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual citizen who was jailed for a modest donation to a charity supporting Ukrainians, was swapped for Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian dual citizen arrested by the U.S. for purportedly exporting sensitive microelectronics to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump are scheduled to meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, beginning at 10:30 p.m. Moscow time (11:30 a.m. local), with discussions aimed at concluding Russia’s prolonged war on Ukraine.