Putin Gains New Bargaining Chip for Prisoner Swaps With Trump—Report

Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly gained a new bargaining chip in negotiations regarding prisoner swaps with the U.S.

Another American citizen has allegedly been arrested in Russia after he was accused of transporting one pound of marijuana, just hours after Moscow and Washington exchanged prisoners earlier this week, according to reports in Russia.

The US citizen’s arrest was reported on Friday by the Russian Telegram channel Mash, which has connections to Russia’s security services.

Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for comment via email.

Newsweek also reached out to the U.S. Department of State for comment via a form on their website outside of business hours.

Why It Matters

Russia’s detainment of another U.S. citizen reported shortly after the exchange of American national Marc Fogel and Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik could sour relations between the two countries. As U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz referred to Moscow’s release of Fogel as a “show of good faith,” the detainment of another American citizen could undermine the progress made in bilateral diplomacy between Washington and Moscow.

What To Know

The American citizen, identified as Byers K. or Byrs K., was reportedly detained at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow after “half a kilogram” (approximately one pound) of marijuana was allegedly found hidden in marmalade candies in his luggage.

After his detainment, the individual was searched and subsequently sent to a pretrial detention center. He faces five to 10 years in prison if found guilty of smuggling illegal drugs.

There appeared to be some discrepancy on when this incident occurred, as the Telegram channel Mash edited their initial post with the news of the arrest, which claimed that it took place “during the arrival of Alexander Vinnik.”

According to the independent Russian news outlet Agentstvo, Mash, a pro-government publication, subsequently edited the post and removed mention of Vinnik and the date of the American citizen’s detention. Later it published a new post stating that the incident took place on February 7.

Agentstvo reported that the Mash post was edited six times in total. The indepedent outlet separately claimed to have found a record of the American’s arrest on the Russian prosecutor office website, dating it February 10. Newsweek cannot independently verify its authenticity.

The U.S. and Russia’s prisoner swap earlier this week allowed Fogel and Vinnik to be repatriated. Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, had previously been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being arrested in 2021 for allegedly carrying medical marijuana. Washington described the arrest as “wrongful detainment.”

Vinnik, a Russian computer expert, was arrested in the U.S. in 2017 after being accused of laundering $4 billion through the digital currency Bitcoin. He pleaded guilty in a San Francisco federal court in 2024 on 21 counts of money laundering.

Russia has repeatedly detained American citizens on accusations of drug possession, due to Moscow’s strict drug laws, according to Reuters.

What People Are Saying

When asked about the report of alleged detainment by Reuters, a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Moscow said: “Due to privacy restrictions we have nothing to share at this point.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications (SPRAVDI), an organization combatting disinformation, wrote: “That didn’t take long. It appears that Russia has already grabbed another American hostage.”

Sprinter Observer, an account posting about geopolitics, wrote on X: “Looks like Trump’s diplomatic team has arrived in Moscow The TASS news agency, citing Flightradar, confirmed that the US Air Force plane landed at the capital’s Vnukovo airport. UPD. Trump said that representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States will hold contacts on February 14 to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether the American’s alleged detainment will be confirmed by Russia and how the Trump administration will respond.