Americans in Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap wondered if death was coming

“That was one of those moments,” said the aunt, Dianna Shaw, “where it was a gut punch for me.”

The Americans were released Wednesday as part of a prisoner exchange between the governments in Kyiv and Moscow, an agreement as stunning as it was sprawling. In addition to Drueke, 40, and Huynh, 28, the Russian government agreed to release eight other foreign nationals who had joined the war on behalf of Ukraine, plus 215 Ukrainians. Fifty-five Russian fighters were freed in exchange, along with Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian opposition politician who has such warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin is believed to be the godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter.

Americans freed in sprawling Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange

Details of the sweeping deal, mediated with involvement from the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued to trickle out Thursday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters covering the U.N. General Assembly in New York that the prisoner exchange was the result of “diplomatic traffic I conducted” with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling it an “important step” toward ending the war that began seven months ago, according to a transcript of his comments carried by state-run media. Ankara also played a key role in brokering a breakthrough deal this summer that allowed for the resumption of grain exports after Russia’s naval blockage of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, but thus far Erdogan has been unable to secure a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, where Drueke and Huynh are convalescing, also was credited with facilitating the foreign nationals’ release. A senior member of the Saudi government on Thursday said Mohammed’s efforts illustrate his “proactive role in bolstering humanitarian initiatives.” The U.S. government has expressed gratitude to the crown prince for his efforts in securing the two Americans’ release, but relations between the two countries remain strained over Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights and, notably, over Mohammed’s suspected role orchestrating the plot to kill Saudi American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In Russia, there was outrage among some nationalists who considered the deal a betrayal. Medvedchuk once was seen as a potential replacement for Zelensky, had Russian forces successfully managed to topple the government in Kyiv and install a puppet regime. Several of the Ukrainians released in exchange for Medvedchuk and other Russians were members of the far-right Azov Regiment, a military force Putin has branded Nazis.

In Ukraine —…