Russia frees Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for convicted drug smuggler in prison swap with the US

• Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran who has been detained in Moscow since 2019, was freed on Wednesday.
• He was freed in a prisoner exchange for a convicted Russian drug smuggler, officials said.

Russia on Wednesday freed Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran detained in Moscow since 2019, as part of a prisoner swap with the US, Russia's foreign ministry and a US official said.

A senior US official told the Associated Press that Reed was swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who was been in US custody since 2010 and was serving a 20-year sentence on drug-smuggling charges.

The Russian state news agency Tass also reported the swap on Wednesday, citing Russia's foreign ministry.

Reed had been sentenced to nine years in prison. He was accused of drunkenly attacking Russian police officers.

His parents, Joey and Paula Reed, told CNN in March that they had not heard from their son for 232 days before being able to talk to him by phone. They said they feared their son had tuberculosis and a broken rib after an "accident" in a Russian prison.

President Joe Biden celebrated Reed's return in a Wednesday statement and praised the "tireless and dedicated work" of US officials to facilitate the exchange.