Biggest Prisoner Swap since the Cold War

24 prisoners who have been held in six countries have been released in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.

The exchange involved 16 detainees from the West - including Americans Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan - and eight who are returning to Russia.

Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford has been in regular contact with some of those who have now been swapped, and gives us her reaction and security correspondent Gordon Corera explains what Russia is getting out of this and how it compares to previous exchanges.

And we hear from Evan Gershkovich’s colleague at the Wall Street Journal, Gráinne McCarthy, about what happens next for the journalist who spent 16 months in Russian custody.

Today’s episode is presented by Jamie Coomarasamy and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Clare Williamson, with Arsenii Sokolov, Nick Sturdee and Cordelia Hemming. The technical producer was Jack Graysmark. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Richard Fenton-Smith. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480

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The BBC’s only English language programme entirely dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its fallout, Ukrainecast is your go-to podcast which investigates the biggest issues around the conflict: Could Putin push the nuclear button? How could Donald Trump end the war in 24 hours? What is the price for peace? The podcast is hosted by Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire and BBC Monitoring’s Vitaly Shevchenko. Ukrainecast covers the most important topics around the conflict and speaks to the real people who’ve lived through several years of war. It also brings you agenda-setting interviews with special guests each week such as UK foreign secretary David Cameron, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and pre-eminent Russia expert Fiona Hill.GET IN TOUCH: You can join our Ukrainecastonline community here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord Send us a message or voicenote via WhatsApp to +443301239480 Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.ukYou can listen to the latest episode of Ukrainecast anytime on your smart speaker by saying “Alexa, Ask BBC Sounds for Ukrainecast."If you enjoy Ukrainecast (and if you’re reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Americast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p07h19zz Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p05299nl

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