The United States announced a prisoner swap with Moscow on Thursday, Aug. 1, that freed Wall Street Journalist Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others from prison in Russia. Their release is part of the largest prisoner exchange involving the United States and Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. The deal included at least 24 people .
"This deal would not have been possible without our allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey," President Joe Biden said. "They all stepped up and they stood with us. They stood with us, and made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries, who were justifiably held and provided logistical support to get Americans home."
The United States and its allies gave Russia a cyber hacker in the United States, alleged "sleeper agents," who lived double lives in Slovenia and one person who was charged for the shooting death of a man in a Berlin park.
Earlier in July, a judge sentenced Gershkovich to 16 years in a high security penal colony after Russian authorities charged him with "gathering secret information."
Whelan was sentenced to 16 years hard labor after being accused of espionage.
The U.S. State Department maintains that both men were innocent and wrongfully detained .
"Their brutal ordeal is over, and they are free," Biden said. "Moments ago, the families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. They're out of Russia earlier today. They were flown to Turkey and soon they'll be wheels up on their way home to see their families."
The multinational deal also secured the release of former regional office coordinators for the late Alexei Navalny.
Negotiations between the United States, its allies and Russia reportedly began in 2022 following the release of WNBA star Briteny Griner.
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