NEW YORK — In the biggest spy swap since the Cold War, 10 confessed Russian agents who infiltrated suburban America were ordered deported Thursday in exchange for four people convicted of betraying Moscow to the West.
The 10 defendants, many speaking in heavy Russian accents despite having spent years posing as US citizens, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a Manhattan courtroom, were sentenced to time served and ordered out of the country. US and Russian officials said they would be exchanged for four Russian citizens convicted of spying for the West.
The swap carries significant consequences for efforts between Washington and Moscow to repair ties chilled by a deepening atmosphere of suspicion.
