On Thursday, the United States and Russia conducted their largest prisoner exchange since the Soviet era. Moscow freed journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents like Vladimir Kara-Murza, as part of a multinational deal that liberated around two dozen individuals.
Gershkovich, Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship, arrived in the U.S. just before midnight, reuniting joyfully with their families. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed them at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, sharing hugs and celebrations.
This exchange took place despite the strained relations between Washington and Moscow following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Negotiators had considered including Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the swap, but after his death in February, they finalized a 24-person deal involving significant concessions from European allies. This included releasing a Russian assassin in exchange for freeing various journalists, suspected spies, political prisoners, and others.
Biden praised the exchange, the largest of its kind with Russia, as a diplomatic success. He invited the families of the returning Americans to the White House but acknowledged the inherent imbalance in such deals: the U.S. and allies released Russians convicted of serious crimes, while Russia freed individuals imprisoned under its politicized legal system on charges seen by the West as fabricated.
"Deals like this one come with tough calls," Biden said, emphasizing the importance of protecting Americans both domestically and internationally.
As part of the agreement, Russia released Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in 2023 on espionage charges he and the U.S. denied. His family expressed their anticipation to reunite with him, and the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a "joyous day."
Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018 on espionage charges he and the U.S. denied, and Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist convicted of spreading false information about the Russian military, were also released.
The three Americans flew to Texas, landing at Joint Base San Antonio early Friday for medical evaluations after spending time with their families. They have the option to receive treatment offered to wrongfully detained Americans by the military.
Among the dissidents released were Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on politically motivated treason charges, and multiple associates of Navalny. Other freed Kremlin critics included Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights advocate convicted of discrediting the Russian military, and Ilya Yashin, imprisoned for opposing the war in Ukraine.
On the Russian side, Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany in 2021 for the murder of a former Chechen rebel in Berlin, was released. Moscow had consistently demanded his release, with Putin personally advocating for it.
Russia also gained the freedom of two alleged sleeper agents imprisoned in Slovenia and three men charged in the U.S., including Roman Seleznev, a convicted hacker and son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, accused of supplying American electronics and ammunition to the Russian military. Norway returned an academic suspected of espionage, and Poland released a detainee held on similar charges.
"Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world," Biden remarked.
In total, six countries released at least one prisoner, with Turkey hosting the swap location in Ankara.
