US envoy urges Russia to release detained Americans, Lavrov faces criticism at UN meeting.

The US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to release two US citizens, former Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who are currently detained in Russia. Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of using the men as "political bargaining chips" and "human pawns". The US has designated Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained" and has repeatedly called on Moscow to release him. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges that the US rejects as false.