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A United States Navy veteran was released from Russian custody after spending nearly a year behind bars, CNN reported. Taylor Dudley was detained by Russian troops in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave that sits between Poland and Lithuania, in April 2022.
Dudley was reportedly attending a music festival in Poland, and it is unknown why he crossed into Kaliningrad.
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and his organization, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, led the negotiations to secure Dudley's release.
"Earlier today, Russian authorities released American Citizen Taylor Dudley, a 35-year-old Navy veteran, across the Polish border to Gov. Bill Richardson, his team, and a representative from the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, a release the Richardson Center worked on diligently and quietly for more than 6 months with significant assistance from the Steve Menzies Global Foundation, from Hostage U.S., and from the James Foley Foundation. The family will be forever grateful for the work of all three," Dudley family spokesperson Jonathan Franks said.
Richardson said that his organization is continuing to work with Russian officials to secure the release of other U.S. citizens, including Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained since 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
"There are many low-profile Americans that deserve freedoms, too," Richardson said. "In other words, there are many around the world that don't have fame, but that still deserve America's backing."