American Navy Veteran Freed After Nine Months in Russian Detention, Signaling Possible Improved Relations Between U.S. and Russia

An American Navy veteran who had been detained in Russia for nearly a year was released from Russian custody on Thursday, according to a family spokesperson. Taylor Dudley, 35, of Lansing, Michigan, was detained by Russian border patrol police in April 2022 after crossing from Poland into Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave which is territory governed by Moscow between Poland and Lithuania.

Former New Mexico Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson, who spearheaded the negotiations for Dudley’s release, said in a statement that the Russian authorities had done “the right thing” in releasing Dudley.

“I am grateful to the Russian government for releasing Taylor and allowing him to return home to his family,” Richardson said. “I am also grateful to the U.S. State Department for their assistance in this matter.”

Dudley’s detention, which the U.S. government had not deemed as “wrongful” or based on arbitrary and discriminatory motivations, had not been widely publicized before Thursday because his family wanted the negotiations to remain private.

The release of Dudley comes amid a tense diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Russia. In a statement, Richardson said that he hoped the release of Dudley would be “a sign of better relations between our two countries.”