US Tried To Get Navalny Into Russia Swap -- But Then He Died

The United States says it had hoped to make the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny part of a prisoner swap with Moscow (Credit: AFP)

Amid celebrations at getting a slew of US citizens and Kremlin opponents out of Russian prisons, the White House had one public regret Thursday: failure to get out an even bigger name -- Alexei Navalny.

"We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny and, unfortunately, he died," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed.