Gershkovich, Whelan among Americans released in massive prisoner swap with Russia

A massive prisoner swap between Russia and the United States has been finalized, the White House announced on Thursday.

Among the Americans returning home are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Gershkovich has been released.

American citizen Alsu Kurmasheva and U.S. permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza were also freed from Russian custody, the White House said.

When asked by Scripps News' Serena Marshall about why this prisoner swap was important, President Joe Biden responded, "My dad has a simple proposition. Family is the beginning middle and end… can think of nothing more consequential. Having lost family in a different way, not knowing what’s happening. It matters."

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Prior to news of the prisoner swap, reports indicated that the American detainees were unexpectedly moved from prisons in recent days. In a similar fashion, Russians imprisoned in the United States had also been released.

"All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia—including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country," President Biden stated.

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Swapping prisoners involves delicate movement of various flights with all parties waiting for planes to land before finalizing such swaps.

Whelan was arrested in 2018 in Moscow and two years later, was convicted and sentenced to 16 years behind bars on espionage charges. The U.S. declared him wrongfully detained.

Gershkovich was detained in Russia in March of last year on accusations of spying. It's a claim Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have repeatedly denied. The U.S. State Department considers Gershkovich to be "wrongfully detained."

Kurmasheva is a dual Russian-U.S. citizen who is a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In July, she was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison, accused of spreading misinformation.

Kara-Murza is a dual citizen of Russia and the United Kingdom but had close ties to late U.S. Sen. John McCain and was an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was outspoken about Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and subsequently arrested by Russian authorities.

In 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for allegedly spreading false information about the war.

Turkish officials have said they have helped facilitate the prisoner exchange.

Multiple nations involved

Thursday's prisoner swap involved 16 people in Russia in exchange for eight individuals held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. In addition to four Americans, five German citizens and seven Russian citizens were all released by Russia.

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Senior administration officials called Thursday's prisoner swap the most complex release of prisoners since the Cold War, and said that the monthslong negotiations involved were "painstaking."

President Biden finalized details as he dropped out of the presidential race

Just an hour before President Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, he was in discussions with other world leaders over the details of the prisoner release, a senior administration official told reporters.

"He was on the phone with his counterparts urging them to make the final arrangements and to get this deal done," a senior administration official said.

Vadim Krasikov was the 'biggest fish'

U.S. officials said that the release of Vadim Krasikov from German custody was important to Russia and that he was the "biggest fish" that the nation wanted back. The White House was unsure why it was so important for Russia to get Krasikov back, but said it was an extremely tough call to make.

According to the AP, Krasikov was convicted of the 2019 killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent. The AP reported that he conducted the killing at the direction of Russian officials.

Biden says he doesn't need to speak to Putin

Senior White House officials said on Thursday that the prisoner swap was not an indicator of improved relations between the U.S. and Russia. Biden added that he does not wish to speak with Putin.