Russia allows a former US Navy officer into Poland

• Taylor Dudley crossed Polish-Russian border in April during his travel in Europe.
• His conditions in Russia are unknown and case is not public.
• Represented by lawyer for families of jailed Americans abroad.

According to lawyer Jonathan Franks, Taylor Dudley crossed the Polish-Russian border in April. Russia released a US citizen who had sneaked into its Kaliningrad exclave during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last February, according to Bill Richardson, the former US ambassador to the UN who met the guy at the border in Poland.

Taylor Dudley, 35, was travelling in Europe when he crossed the Polish-Russian border in April, according to Jonathan Franks, a lawyer who represents the families of Americans jailed abroad, in an email to media.

Dudley’s conditions in Russia were unknown, and his case had not previously been made public.

Dudley’s conditions in Russia were unknown, and his case had not previously been made public.

The State Department was aware of allegations that a United States citizen had been deported from Russia, according to a spokesman who declined to comment further on the case due to privacy concerns.
Dudley was released at the Bagrationovsk-Bezledy border crossing as relations between Moscow and Washington remain strained following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.

After talks between US and Russian authorities, Russia released WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout last month, while former Marine Paul Whelan remains in a Russian prison camp.

According to Franks and a statement from the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico and US ambassador to the United Nations who has helped free Americans held abroad, met Dudley at the border and worked on the case for months.

“The talks and work to ensure Taylor’s safe return were done discreetly and with engagement on the ground in both Moscow and Kaliningrad, as well as full support from Taylor’s family back in the United States,” according to the Richardson Center.

According to Franks, a U.S. Embassy representative in Warsaw was also present for Dudley’s release, and the Richardson Center praised U.S. officials as well as businessman Steve Menzies for their assistance in securing his return.

The Polish foreign ministry’s spokesman declined to comment on the situation.

The Baltic Fleet of the Russian navy is headquartered in the Russian province of Kaliningrad, which is situated halfway between Poland and Lithuania.

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