Evan Gershkovich and others freed welcomed back to US soil by Biden and Harris
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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the released Americans returning to the United States from Russia on Thursday night. This exchange was the most significant prisoner swap with Western countries since the Cold War ended.
Evan Gershkovich, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, along with security executive Paul Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 11.37pm on a private plane from Ankara, Turkey.
Biden was the first to welcome each of the three individuals as they descended from the plane. Harris followed, and afterwards, there were heartwarming moments as they were reunited with their loved ones.
Whelan was the first to leave, greeting the president with a handshake and inquiring: "How are you, sir?" He then embraced his sister, receiving applause from the people assembled on the runway.
Gershkovich and Kurmasheva came after. Biden greeted the radio journalist's daughter with a "happy birthday" as she ran to her mother, crying and expressing her love. The husband remarked, "This is actually happening."
The exchange of prisoners happened after many difficult talks and hidden gatherings between various countries such as the US, Russia, and Germany, which became more intense in the past few months. Sixteen individuals, including three Americans, were released from Russia and Belarus.
Gershkovich, a journalist from the Journal who reports on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine from Moscow, was taken into custody in March 2023 while in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage.
Last month, he was given a 16-year prison term for spying after a short trial held in secret. Despite denying the accusations, governments worldwide labeled the charges as absurd.
Whelan, a Michigan native who served in the military and held a job in corporate security, was on a trip to Russia in 2018 when he was taken into custody at a hotel in Moscow. Two years later, he was given a 16-year prison term for espionage, despite proclaiming his innocence throughout the legal proceedings.
Kurmasheva, who works as an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, funded by the US, was found guilty of breaking a Russian law that requires foreign journalists to register as foreign agents. In June, she was given a sentence of six and a half years.
The exchange of prisoners happened because Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted assassin Vadim Krasikov to come back. Krasikov has been in a German jail since 2019 for killing a Chechen person in Berlin.
Krasikov, aged 58, who Putin praised as a "patriot," was brought back along with seven other Russian individuals, including a hacker, a suspected money launderer, and a credit card fraudster named Roman Seleznev, as well as two intelligence officers. The exchange of prisoners occurred in Turkey.
Biden and his national security team have been leading discussions over the past few months as his presidency nears its end. Last month, Biden announced that he will not run for another term.
Vice President Harris greeted the American people on the airport runway, standing next to the president. This encounter came just days after she assumed her new role and is expected to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for president at the upcoming party convention.
On Thursday afternoon, Donald Trump, who is running for president as a Republican, criticized the prisoner swap, saying that the US negotiators were a disgrace.
On Truth Social, the ex-president inquired about the specifics of the exchange, such as if it was done with money, and boasted about his expertise in making deals.
Led by the White House, essential help with the talks was provided by a diverse group, such as the detainees’ friends, family members, influential figures in the tech industry, Hillary Clinton, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Gershkovich’s mother.
Ella Milman and her family expressed their gratitude to President Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and all government officials from the US and other countries who played a role in securing Evan's release.
We have been waiting for 491 days for Evan to be released, and it's difficult to put into words how we feel today. We are excited to finally hug him and see his courageous smile in person. Our top priority is taking care of Evan and reuniting as a family. No family should have to go through what we have experienced, so we are grateful and happy to share this moment with Paul and Alsu's families.
The announcement expressed gratitude towards the Journal and parent company Dow Jones for their ongoing support of Evan and the entire family from the start.
Thursday's exchange coincides with one of the most strained periods in US-Russia relations since the Cold War, as Putin has continued attacks on Ukraine despite international condemnation following the invasion in February 2022.
In 2010, American authorities captured 10 Russian spies believed to be secret agents who were later traded in a unique exchange for four Russians imprisoned in their own country, which included Sergei Skripal, a spy working with British intelligence. Skripal moved to the United Kingdom, where he and his daughter were poisoned with a deadly nerve agent in 2018, an incident that officials attributed to Russia.
