Trump says Russia has released American hostage Marc Fogel

President Trump announced Tuesday that he has secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2021.

In a statement, the White House said Mr. Trump and his team, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, negotiated Mr. Fogel’s release and called it “a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.

“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” the White House said.

When asked what the U.S. gave up for Mr. Fogel, Mr. Trump simply replied, “not much.”

“They were very nice. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually,” Mr. Trump said. “I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed.” 

Mr. Fogel was arrested on charges of bringing medical marijuana into Russia in August 2021. He began serving a 14-year sentence by June 2022. He was classified as wrongly detained by the Biden administration last year.

In a statement, Mr. Fogel’s family thanked Mr. Trump for securing his release.

“We are beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home,” said the statement from Mr. Fogel’s wife, Jane, and sons Ethan and Sam. 

Mr. Waltz said that Mr. Witkoff traveled to Russia himself and brought Mr. Fogel back on his plane as part of “an exchange.” The statement did not say whether the U.S. or an ally released someone in return.

He also did not detail what the Trump administration offered to secure Mr. Fogel’s freedom. It is also unclear whom Mr. Witkoff met with, or whether other concerns between the U.S. and Russia, including the Ukraine war, were part of those discussions. 

Either way, the deal is a win for both sides and a good framework ahead of talks over the war and Ukraine. The move also has the potential to improve what has been a frosty relationship between Russia and the U.S. in recent years.

By releasing Mr. Fogel, Russian President Vladimir Putin offers an olive branch to build stronger ties with the new Trump administration. Mr. Putin had praised Mr. Trump in the weeks after his U.S. counterpart returned to the White House. 

Mr. Trump pledged to end the war between Russia and Ukraine within his first day, but Mr. Putin so far has been unwilling to make concessions to achieve peace in the region. 

Mr. Trump has said he wants to use sanctions and other tools to put economic pressure on Mr. Putin to end the war. He has also expressed skepticism about U.S. aid going to Ukraine. It’s unclear how much longer the U.S. will supply weapons to Ukraine. 

Mr. Fogel worked for nearly a decade as a history teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where children of U.S. diplomats are among the students.

Russian officials arrested him at an airport in Moscow he was found carrying about 17 grams of cannabis, which his family and lawyer said was approved by a doctor to treat “severe spinal pain.” 

He was convicted of “large-scale drug smuggling” and given a 14-year sentence at a Russian hard labor camp. It was the same court that also detained WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was released in a prisoner swap in December 2022. 

The Biden administration carried out multiple prisoner swaps with Russia, but none — including the one with Ms. Griner and another that saw the release of journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan — involved Mr. Fogel.