Three Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, have returned to the United States after being freed in a significant prisoner swap with Russia. The swap, which took place at a Turkish airfield, saw Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva released in exchange for eight Russian prisoners. This exchange is described as the largest since the Cold War era.
Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the three were met with cheers from those on the tarmac and were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris before reuniting with their families. They spent some time on the tarmac for photos and conversations before leaving the base, accompanied by Biden and Harris’s motorcades.
President Biden praised the release, calling it a significant diplomatic achievement and thanking America's allies, including Germany and Slovenia, for their roles. He also acknowledged the release of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza as a notable success.
The deal, which took over 18 months to negotiate, involved the return of Vadim Krasikov, who had been serving a life sentence in Germany for an assassination in Berlin. He has now returned to Russia. In total, 24 individuals from seven countries were exchanged in Ankara, Turkey. This included 10 people relocated to Russia, 13 to Germany, and three to the U.S.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin personally welcomed the returned Russians with flowers at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport and announced that they would receive state awards. Among the returnees was a Russian couple, convicted of spying in Slovenia, along with their two children.
The European Union and NATO both welcomed the swap, which was mediated by Turkey. German citizen Rico Krieger, who had been sentenced to death in Belarus but was recently pardoned, was also released.
Earlier negotiations had considered including jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but discussions fell through after his death in February under unclear circumstances. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, expressed happiness at the release of the prisoners.
This swap comes after increased speculation about a major exchange, especially following the movement of several high-profile prisoners in Russia. The last major prisoner swap of similar scale occurred in December 2022, when U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner was exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in Abu Dhabi. Another notable swap took place in Vienna in 2010, involving Russian spies and double agents.