Russia: prisoner exchange with Paris, Frenchman Laurent Vinatier freed

Milan, 8 January (LaPresse) – Russia and France have concluded a prisoner exchange. Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, detained in France at the request of the United States, has been repatriated in exchange for the release of Frenchman Laurent Vinatier, convicted in Russia and recognised as a foreign agent. This was reported by the Tass news agency. ‘On 8 January 2026, Russian citizen Daniil Kasatkin, a basketball player detained in France and sought by the American authorities for extradition to the United States, was repatriated,’ the Russian security service announced. ‘Kasatkin was exchanged for Vinatier Laurent Claude Jean-Louis, a citizen of the French Republic, born in 1976, who, as an employee of the Swiss non-governmental organisation Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, collected military and technical-military information.’