Russia releases Navy veteran

Name: WORLD
Price range: $

Taylor Dudley on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C. after former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson helped negotiate Dudley’s release from a prison in Kaliningrad, Russia. Getty Images/Photo by Chip Somodevilla

Russia released a U.S. Navy veteran accused of illegally crossing into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad from Poland last year. Russia held 35-year-old Taylor Dudley for nine months before delivering him into U.S. custody on Thursday. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, The Steve Menzies Global Foundation, and the U.S. Embassy were all involved in securing Dudley’s release.

When was Dudley detained? Michigan authorities reported Dudley missing last year. Dudley’s family says he was in Poland for a music festival before he crossed into Kaliningrad, where he was detained in April 2022.

Dig deeper: Read Evgeny Kosykh’s story about the mercenaries fighting for Russia.