Overview
- The French Foreign Ministry said Laurent Vinatier has arrived in France and was received at the Quai d'Orsay.
- Russia's FSB stated Vinatier was exchanged for Russian national Daniil Kasatkin, who returned to Moscow.
- FSB-released video shows Vinatier being read a presidential pardon, leaving detention, and boarding a small plane, with Kasatkin seen exiting the same aircraft.
- Kasatkin was arrested in France in June 2025 on a U.S. request over suspected hacking; a French court backed extradition in October, but no prime ministerial decree was issued.
- Vinatier, 49, was convicted in Russia for failing to register as a foreign agent and later faced espionage allegations, while President Emmanuel Macron voiced relief and thanked diplomats for securing his release.