Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan reunite with their families in U.S. after massive prisoner swap (2024)

Jake Sullivan defends Biden admin's work on releasing U.S. prisoners around the world

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich called for the release of political prisoners languishing in Russian jails, in his first public comments since being released from prison in Russia.

“I just spent a month in prison in Yekaterinburg where basically everyone I was sat with is a political prisoner. Nobody knows them publicly, they have various political beliefs, they’re not all Navalny supporters, everybody knows about them,” he said on the runway, having just stepped off the flight from Russia to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

“Today was a really touching moment ... but it would be good to see if we could potentially do something about them as well, “ he said.

Asked how he was doing, the journalist said: “I’m all right, it was a good flight,” adding that the show of support had been “overwhelming.”

Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine who was detained after a friend’s wedding in Russia five years ago, has thanked the many thousands of supporters who sent cards and messages of encouragement during his detainment, and described the charges against him as "nonsense."

“So, I went on a two-week vacation, you know, the FSB grabbed me, said I was a spy,” he said of his arrest by Russia’s intelligence service in 2018.

“This is the nonsense narrative they came up with and they just, they wouldn’t let it go. So, this is how Putin runs his government. This is how Putin runs his country. Yeah, I’m glad I’m home. I’m never going back there again,” he said.

The three released Americans and their families arrived at Kelly Field Air Force Base in San Antonio early today and expressed their relief at the end of their long ordeals.

Pool footage of the former prisoners showed them smiling and talking to journalists inside an aircraft hangar at the base. The plane carrying Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva previously landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 11:38 p.m. last night.

Speaking after meeting with the newly freed Americans, Biden told reporters that he felt "satisfaction" at bringing them home.

Biden said the prisoner exchange was about families being able to have access to loved ones.

Harris, meanwhile, praised American leadership. "This is an example of the strength of American leadership in bringing nations together,” she told reporters.

Biden said other countries made difficult decisions in making the exchange happen, and he singled out Germany, which agreed to release a convicted hitman who killed someone in Berlin, as well as the chancellor of Slovenia.

“The toughest call on this one was for other countries, because I asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self-interests — and it was very difficult for them to do," Biden told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews after three Americans were back on U.S. soil late last night.

Biden and Harris said the remarkable prisoner exchange with Russia highlighted the importance of diplomacy and having allies.

Moments after Biden welcomed home the newly freed Americans, he spoke to reporters.

“We've got more work to do," he said, while he praised allies’ help with pushing the prisoner deal forward.

“My job is to make sure, No. 1, they don’t get them,” Biden said, referring to countries imprisoning Americans. “And if they do, we get them back.”

Harris said she is thankful for Biden and his ability to bring allies together.

Biden posted a video to X of him and the families of the Americans freed in the prisoner swap talking on the phone with their loved ones.

“No word is strong enough for this,” Vladimir Kara-Murza said in the video. “I was sure I’m going to die in prison because I don’t believe what’s happening.”

“You’ve done a wonderful thing by saving so many people,” Kara-Murza added.

Biden and Harris greeted freed Americans Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews.

Friends, family members and officials are also there.

The plane touched down around 11:38 p.m. Biden and Harris stood at the base of the stairs to greet the freed Americans as they stepped off the jet.

Biden and Harris were seen talking to Whelan after he got off the jet. Biden and Whelan hugged. Gershkovich was next and was greeted by the president and the vice president, and then was followed by Kurmasheva.

Kurmasheva hugged her two children and husband. There was applause as each former prisoner hugged their family back on U.S. soil.

Cameras did not pick up what was said between the three Americans and the president and the vice president.

A plane with freed Americans Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva has touched down at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

The Americans are among 16 people released from Russian detention in a negotiated deal with the U.S. and other nations.

The plane touched down at 11:38 p.m.

They will be greeted by Biden and Harris.

The families of Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva, held hostage in Russia but freed in an exchange, are at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, awaiting a plane carrying them home.

The jet is expected to touch down shortly.

Harris said she called Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, following the massive deal that led to the release of people imprisoned in Russia, including members of Navalny’s team.

“Some of them worked with Navalny to combat corruption and build a free, democratic Russia,” Harris said on X.

“I thanked Yulia for her courage in continuing her husband’s work and reaffirmed my commitment to stand with those fighting for freedom in Russia and around the world,” Harris wrote.

Navalny survived being poisoned in 2020 and was sentenced to a combined 30 ½-year jail sentence in Russia. He died in prison in February at age 47.

Biden and others directly blamed Putin. “Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Biden said at the time.

Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, freed from a 25-year sentence at a Siberian penal colony as part of today’s massive prisoner exchange, was a pallbearer at the funeral of Sen. John McCain.

Kara-Murza is a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a promoter of a democratic Russia.

He was twice poisoned, and he was imprisoned after he criticized Putin over Russia’s 2022 unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

“Vladimir Kara-Murza, who honored Senator John McCain as a pallbearer, embodies the unwavering spirit of democracy,” the McCain Institute said in a statement today.

“Despite facing multiple assassination attempts orchestrated by the Kremlin, his steadfast commitment to promoting human rights in Russia continues to inspire hope for a just future,” the institute said.

McCain, R-Ariz., died in 2018.

Kara-Murza is Russian, but he is an American green-card holder.

The Republican House speaker and the Senate minority leader said in a statement about the release of Americans wrongfully jailed in Russia that the deal “does little to discourage Putin’s reprehensible behavior.”

“The release of innocent Americans and Russian political prisoners from wrongful detention is encouraging news. We eagerly await the return of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza to their homes and loved ones and will continue pressing for all Americans to be released,” said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“Their unjust captivity will be an enduring reminder of the Russian government’s longstanding fear of free people and the free press. And the continued imprisonment of American citizens and innocent Russians is a damning indictment of Vladimir Putin’s hostility to the United States and his disdain for the rule of law.

“Without serious action to deter further hostage-taking by Russia, Iran, and other states hostile to the United States, the costs of hostage diplomacy will continue to rise. As we renew our call for the return of all persons wrongfully detained by the Kremlin, we recognize that trading hardened Russian criminals for innocent Americans does little to discourage Putin’s reprehensible behavior.”

Evan Gershkovich’s family released the following statement:

“We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release, and it’s hard to describe what today feels like. We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again. No family should have to go through this, and so we share relief and joy today with Paul and Alsu’s families.

“We are grateful to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Chancellor Scholz and every U.S. or foreign government official who helped get Evan released.

“Our family has felt so much love and support from Evan’s fellow journalists, his wonderful friends, and many, many people around the world. It made a difference to Evan and to us. And we especially thank Evan’s colleagues at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. They have taken care of Evan and our entire family since the beginning, and we are forever grateful.

“The Gershkovich Family

“Ella Milman, Mikhail Gershkovich and Danielle Gershkovich”

A co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize recipient organization Memorial and several members of the team of the late dissident Alexei Navalny are among the Germans Russia is releasing, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

He did not name the people expected to be released. The U.S. earlier identified Oleg Orlov, a co-chair of Memorial, as those to be released.

Orlov was sentenced in February to 2½ years after he wrote in 2022, the year Russia invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked attack, that Russia under Putin had descended into fascism, Reuters reported at the time.

Memorial is a Russian human rights organization that was founded in 1987, when the Soviet Union still existed. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 “for its fight for human rights, democracy, and peaceful co-existence,” the Nobel Peace Center said.

Video posted on X by Wall Street Journal senior executive producer Vaughn Sterling shows applause and reaction in the newspaper's newsroom on the announcement of the exchange to free Gershkovich and others.

The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the release of wrongfully detained reporters released in a deal with Russia and said more than 300 journalists remain jailed around the world.

The 320 jailed journalists found in the group’s most recent census are the second most it has ever recorded.

"Evan and Alsu have been apart from their families for far too long," CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement, referring to Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva.

"They were detained and sentenced on spurious charges intended to punish them for their journalism and stifle independent reporting. Their release is welcome — but it does not change the fact that Russia continues to suppress a free press," Ginsberg said.

China, Myanmar, Belarus and Russia led the list with the most jailed journalists, the census showed.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby issued a stark warning to all Americans as released U.S. citizens unjustly jailed in Russia were returning home in a prisoner exchange.

“Absolutely, don’t go to Russia right now,” Kirby said on MSNBC.

Kirby was asked whether prisoner exchanges like today’s could encourage countries to take hostages, and he said he wasn’t sure that was the case.

“I think it’s an open question that that precept is actually true, that negotiating a deal like this just encourages more hostage-taking. The truth is we haven’t seen data that actually confirms that that’s the case,” Kirby said.

“I mean, even when you’re not negotiating deals, bad actors like Russia, bad actors like Iran are still taking hostages,” he said.

The State Department warns U.S. citizens about countries where there is a risk of being detained, and he encouraged any American considering travel to view those warnings.

The husband of freed journalist Alsu Kurmasheva said he spoke to her from the Oval Office next to Biden and other families.

“It was so overwhelming. It was such a mix of emotions — and the setting was very special to us, because we got to speak from the Oval Office standing next to the president with all the other families,” Pavel Butorin said in a brief phone interview this evening.

Butorin will be at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, near Washington, as Kurmasheva and other Americans return home after their detention in Russia.

A Russian court last month sentenced Kurmasheva, a Russian American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to 6½ years in prison.

Butorin has said her arrest was related to a book she edited, “Saying No to War. 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine," Reuters reported at the time of her sentence.

Russia has made it a crime to discuss its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including calling it a war.

“It was a very moving experience,” Butorin said of the Oval Office call. “I don’t even really remember what she said — I do remember her saying, ‘I love you guys.’”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has welcomed Germans and Russians freed in the prisoner swap to Germany and says he had “very moving” conversations with them.

Scholz said after they landed at Cologne/Bonn Airport late today that “all arrived safe and sound” and will undergo health checks in the coming days.

He said that “many did not expect this to happen now and are still full of the feelings that are connected with suddenly being free.” He added that “many feared for their health and their lives; that must be said very clearly.”

The 16 prisoners freed by Russia and Belarus included five German citizens, and the deal involved Germany's deporting Vadim Krasikov to Russia. Krasikov was serving a life prison sentence for what judges concluded was a Russian state-ordered killing in Berlin in 2019.

Scholz said: “I think this is the right decision. And if you had any doubts, then you lose them after speaking with those who are now free.”

He said it was “a special moment for me, a moment that certainly has also very much intensified the friendship between the U.S and Germany.”

In February, Harris met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, asked most of the aides to leave them and asked for Scholz’ help with a planned prisoner exchange with Russia, a White House official said.

Harris raised something Biden had recently discussed with Scholz — that Germany’s release of Vadim Krasikov was a critical component of getting a prisoner swap, the official said.

Krasikov, who was released as part of the exchange, is a Russian hitman who was jailed for life in Germany for the murder of a former Chechen militant in Berlin.

The meeting between Harris and Scholz occurred on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

“She moved the ball forward significantly in that meeting,” the White House official said.

At Munich, Harris also met with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in a meeting arranged specifically to try to help bring Slovenia on board with the multicountry prisoner swap, the White House official said.

After their arrival at Joint Base Andrews tonight, Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva and their families will be offered a flight to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio to receive post-isolation support at Brooke Army Medical Center, a defense official told NBC News.

They are due to arrive at 11:30 p.m. ET and are expected to be welcomed home by Biden and Harris.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on the tarmac at Vnukovo Inernational Airport to offer hugs and handshakes to returnees who were released in the prisoner exchange deal with the U.S.

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Brittney Griner knows only too well the swirling emotions of being involved in a prisoner swap, and she said tonight that she is “head over heels” that fellow Americans are going home from Russia.

“Great day. It’s a great day. It’s a great day,” Griner said after the U.S. women’s basketball team beat Belgium 87-74 to clinch a berth in the Paris Games quarterfinals. “We’ll talk more about it later. But head over heels happy for the families right now. Any day that Americans come home, that’s a win. That’s a win.”

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, went through her ownhigh-profile prisoner exchange with Russia in 2022 after having beensentenced to nine years in jailfor drug possession and smuggling that year.

Following the release of prisoners held in Russia, Harris told reporters, “It gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is over.”

She added that she is committed to bringing back Americans who have been wrongfully detained or held hostage.

The head of a global campaign that has led to sanctions against Russian officials who knows dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza says the outspoken Putin critic is not going to stay silent now that he is free.

"He’s definitely not going to stop," William Browder, who heads the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, said on MSNBC.

Kara-Murza helped get the 2012 Magnitsky Act passed. The law, which allows the U.S. to freeze the assets of human rights offenders, is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a whistleblowing attorney who died in a Russian prison.

"In fact, I just got a letter from him from prison last week where he told me that he’s learning Spanish," Browder said of Kara-Murza.

“And the reason he’s learning Spanish is he wants to go down to Latin America and get the Latin American countries to pass Magnitsky Acts so they can freeze the assets of the Putin regime and other Russian criminals,” he said.

Video from Russia’s security service, the FSB, shows Gershkovich and Whelan boarding a plane along with Vladimir Kara-Murza, Patrick Schobel and Vadim Ostanin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted the Russian prisoners released in the multinational prisoner swap today after they landed in Moscow.

“I would like to address those of you who are directly involved in military service. I would like to thank you for your loyalty to your oath, your duty and your Motherland, which has not forgotten you for even a minute,” Putin said on Russian state television. “And now, you are home.”

The first man greeted Putin greeted was Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for life in Germany for the 2019 murder in Berlin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist, in what prosecutors believed was a Russian state-sanctioned assassination.

“All of you will be presented with state awards. We will see each other again, talk about your future,” he said. “Now I just want to congratulate you on your return home.”

President Biden and Vice President Harris are scheduled to greet Americans freed from wrongful detention in Russia tonight at around 11:30 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews, according to a schedule released by the White House.

Voice of America today said it was welcoming home Alsu Kurmasheva, a reporter with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, and Washington Post contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Radio Free Europe is a private nonprofit organization that is funded through a grant by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which also oversees Voice of America.

"Their unjust imprisonment highlights the urgent need to redouble efforts to protect the safety of journalists under threat simply for doing their jobs," Voice of America said in a statement.

The Russian Federal Security Service said today that eight of its citizens, including children, who were detained and imprisoned in a number of NATO countries “were returned to their homeland as a result of an exchange that took place at the airport in Ankara.” Turkey previously said 10 prisoners, including two children, had been transferred to Russia.

“Their return was made possible thanks to the systematic and task-oriented work of representatives of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other competent government agencies, as well as foreign partners,” the Russian government said.

“The Russian citizens were exchanged for a group of individuals who acted in the interests of foreign states to the detriment of the security of the Russian Federation,” the statement said.

Four U.S. residents who were wrongly imprisoned in Russia were released and on their way home Thursday.

Vice President Kamala Harris played “a critical role in this diplomacy at a number of key moments” leading to the prisoner exchange, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said today.

“She met with the chancellor of Germany in Munich to help pave the way,” Jean-Pierre said.

“She also met with the prime minister of Slovenia to help bring them into the negotiations,” she added. “They were partners in this and then you’ll see her tonight join the president to welcome back those Americans who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia.”

Wall Street Journal associate editor Paul Beckett said today on MSNBC that there had been brief communication with Gershkovich’s family “and they’re just on the moon” over his release.

Beckett said that in the Journal newsroom today, there were “tears of relief, smiles of joy, huge gratitude.”

“We’re incredibly excited and exhausted at the same time, and that’s how we’re feeling, so you know, can only imagine how Evan and his amazing family are doing as they wait to be reunited in a few hours,” he said.

A senior administration official stated today that the Biden administration has been working to negotiate Marc Fogel's release since as early as the negotiations for the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.

The senior official said it was the same case in today’s deal.

“We absolutely wanted Mark to be included. But it just wasn’t going to happen. You do the best you can and you get what you can,” the official said.

The official said that after years of trying, in this case they were able to secure the release of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, but not Fogel.

“What that tells us is we have got to keep redoubling our efforts, and we are,” the official said. “I can assure you that there are ongoing conversations and dialogue about Marc and about trying to get him released.”

“We understand that today, it will be a tough day for the Fogel family,” the official said. “We just want to make sure that they understand we have not forgotten Mark. And we’re going to continue to work for his release.”

The family of Marc Fogel, an American serving 14 years in a Russian prison who was not released today, said that “for the second time in three years since Marc Fogel’s detention in Russia, we are completely heartbroken and outraged that Marc has been left behind while the U.S. government brought other Americans home.”

Fogel had been teaching in Russia and was sentenced to 14 years for having a small amount of medical cannabis that had been prescribed to him in the U.S., but was illegal in Russia.

“Today, Marc is missing from the historic prisoner exchange orchestrated by the Biden Administration,” the family said in a statement through its attorney Sasha Phillips.

“It is incomprehensible that the U.S. government, which has secured the release of other Americans and even foreign nationals detained long after Marc, has refused to do the same for Marc Fogel,” the family said. “This glaring injustice and indifference are unacceptable. It is wrong, unfair, and not the America we know and love.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said today that “after years of brutal and wrongful detention in Russia at the hands of Putin’s regime, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza are finally on their way home.”

“Today is a joyous day for their families who have waited a long time to see their loved ones,” he said.

Schumer said that throughout their “heart wrenching imprisonment, they have remained strong and they have showed the world their incredible resilience and courage.”

President Biden posted a photo on X of the Americans heading back to the U.S.

"After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families," Biden wrote in the post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to pardon more than a dozen of the prisoners, including the three Americans and one U.S. resident, who were freed in a multicountry swap, the Kremlin said.

The move was done with "the aim of returning Russian citizens detained and imprisoned in foreign countries," according to the Kremlin. It also said it was "grateful to the leadership of all countries that provided assistance in preparing the exchange."

The Turkish government said today that “the most extensive prisoner exchange operation of recent times took place in Ankara” and involved a total of 26 people from prisons in seven countries — the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that seven aircraft, two from the U.S., and one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia, had transported prisoners to Turkey as part of the exchange.

Ten prisoners, including two children, were later transferred to Russia, 13 to Germany, and three to the United States, the Turkish government said.

The statement said Turkey “will continue to make every contribution to ensure international peace and stability.”

President Biden and Vice President Harris will be at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland tonight to welcome the three released U.S. citizens when they arrive on U.S. soil, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today during the White House Press briefing. The three are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a legal permanent resident, will be traveling to Germany, where his family will meet him after standing with Biden during his address earlier today, Sullivan said.

“We expect him back here in the United States soon,” Sullivan said, where he will be able to see the president and others in the U.S. government.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on his official Telegram channel that he would like for the "traitors of Russia to rot in prison or die in jail, as has often happened” in remarks about the high-profile prisoner exchange, which included three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident who were all wrongfully imprisoned.

"But it is more useful to get out our own, who worked for the country, for the Fatherland, for all of us,”said Medvedev, who is also deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, which is chaired by Vladimir Putin. “Let the traitors now feverishly select new names and actively disguise themselves under a witness protection program.”

Two of the Russian prisoners released today are convicted cybercriminals who the U.S. says stole hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans.

Many of the most persistent cybercriminals who attack Americans hail from Russia, which does not extradite its citizens. Western law enforcement generally considers it a major victory to get any prominent Russian criminal hacker behind bars, making their release remarkable.

The two men, both in their 40s, are Vladislav Klyushin, part of a ring that hacked U.S. earnings reports to game the stock market; and Roman Seleznev, a seasoned credit card thief and son of a Russian lawmaker.

Read more here about the Russians freed in today’s prisoner swap.

The three Russians released from U.S. custody in today’s prisoner swap had been prosecuted by the Department of Justice.Two of them had been convicted and sentenced.

Vladislav Klyushin was sentenced to 9 years in U.S. prison in September 2023 after being convicted of participating in a $93 million insider trading scheme involving confidential earnings information obtained by hacking security databases. He claimed he turned down efforts to recruit him as a spy by the CIA and Britain’s MI6.

Roman Seleznev was sentenced in 2017 to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to a $9 million bank fraud conspiracy and involvement in a cybercrime ring for $50 million in online identity theft.

Vadim Konoshchenok was arrested in Estonia last year and extradited to the U.S. on an indictment charging him with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government. The U.S. suspected he had ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service.He had not been tried and convicted.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Read more here about the Russians freed in today's prisoner swap.

Blinken spoke by phone to the three U.S. citizens released today in a prisoner swap and said they sounded "strong of spirit."

“They all sounded strong of voice, strong of mind, strong of spirit,” Blinken said, speaking from theYokota Air Base, a Japanese and American air force base in Tokyo, Japan.

“I told them the hospitality at home would probably be a lot better than the hospitality they have been receiving. It was just very good to actually hear them,” he said.

Department spokesperson Matt Miller said that while on the tarmac, Blinken spoke with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva while the three were together in Ankara.

Blinken was asked about the Russians getting back Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for life in Germany for the 2019 murder in Berlin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist, in what prosecutors believed was a Russian state-sanctioned assassination.

He said, “These are always incredibly hard decisions” and the nature of the prisoners swapped “shows you what they value, shows you what we value.”

Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom advocacy group, said it was “hugely relieved” that journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva “are finally free.”

The group also said that it “condemns the Kremlin’s arbitrary detention of these journalists, which amounts to state hostage-taking.”

“We are hugely relieved by reports that both Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva have been released, following 16 months of detention for Gershkovich, and nine months for Kurmasheva,” Rebecca Vincent, the director of campaigns for Reporters Without Borders, said in the statement.

“Neither should have spent a single day in a Russian prison for doing their jobs as journalists.,” Vincent said. “As we await confirmation of their safe return to the United States, we emphasize that journalists are not targets and must not be used as political pawns in this way. The international community must make clear to the Russian government that their outrageous practice of state hostage-taking will not be tolerated. In the meantime, we continue to advocate for the release of the more than 40 other journalists who remain detained in Russia in connection with their work.”

When asked during his address to respond to former President Donald Trump’s comments that he could have secured the release of U.S. prisoners without giving up anything in exchange, Biden said, “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”

During his address today, President Biden led the singing of "Happy Birthday" to Miriam Butorin, the daughter of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. He mentioned she was turning 13 tomorrow, following the long-awaited release of her mother.

"Now, she gets to celebrate with her mom. That’s what this is all about, families able to be together again, but they should have been all along," Biden said during his address.

"Thank you again to everyone who did their part. In just a few hours, welcome home, our fellow Americans," Biden said. "We’re looking forward to that, God willing, Thank you. And it’s a good day."

Biden said during his address today that the release of the four U.S. residents and others, “would not have been made possible without our allies, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey, they all stepped up, and they stood with us.”

“They made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries who were justifiably being held and provided logistical support to get the Americans home,” he said.

Biden said his administration and the United States “work relentlessly to free Americans who are unjustly held around the world.”

He also said the State Department has introduced new warnings for Americans about the risk of being wrongfully detained by foreign governments.

“Deals like this one come with tough calls. There are never any guarantees,” he said. “There’s nothing that matters more to me protecting Americans at home and abroad and so we’ll continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained Americans around the world.”

Multiple family members ofthe four released U.S. residents joined Biden during his address today, the White House said.

To the president’s right were Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul Whelan; Pavel Butorin, the husband, Bibi Butorin, the daughter, and Miriam Butorin, the daughter, of Alsu Kurmasheva; and to the president’s left, Mikhail Gershkovich, the father, Ella Milman, the mother, Danielle Gershkovich, the sister, Anthony Huczek, the brother-in-law, of Evan Gershkovich; and Evgeniya Kara-Murza, the wife, Ekaterina Kara-Murza, the daughter, Daniil Kara-Murza, the son, of Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The most notable Russian prisoner released as part of the swap is Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for life in Germany for the 2019 murder in Berlin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist,in what prosecutors believed was a Russian state-sanctioned assassination. Russian authorities say they believed Khangoshvili was involved in multiple attacks on Russian soil, including the 2010 suicide bombings on the Moscow Metro.

The U.S. released three Russian prisoners, including anintelligence operativefacing charges of smuggling U.S. technology and ammunition to the Russian military. Slovenia released two Russian prisoners, Norway and Poland each released one.

Russia released12 German prisoners, most of them connected to opposition leaderAlexei Navalnywho died in prison in February, following a yearslong struggle against official corruption andPresident Vladimir Putin’sgovernment that includedseveral poisoning attempts.

Read full story here.

Vice President Kamala Harris said today that “we celebrate the release of Paul, Evan, Alsu, Vladimir and others who were unjustly held in Russia.”

“It gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is over and that they will soon be reunited with their families,” Harris said in a post on X, and added that she and President Biden “will not stop working until every American who is wrongfully detained or held hostage is brought home.”

President Joe Biden addressed the nation today, with the families of newly released U.S. prisoners at his side, to say that the four U.S. residents will soon be "wheels up on their way home to see their families.”

“Now, their brutal ordeal is over and they’re free,” Biden said. “Moments ago, 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 will be wheels up on their way home to see their families.”

"This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here. It’s relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country who have been praying for this day for a long time," Biden said. "The deal that made this possible was the feat of diplomacy and friendship."

With the release of Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, her employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said in a statement celebrating her freedom that she was "targeted because she was an American journalist who was simply trying to take care of a family member inside Russia."

"She did nothing wrong and certainly did not deserve the unjust treatment and forced separation from her loving family members and colleagues," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty CEO Stephen Capus said. Kurmasheva had been detained since October on a charge of spreading false information.

Capus said the media outlet still has three other journalists imprisoned in Belarus and Russian-occupied Crimea. "We will not rest until all our unjustly detained journalists are home safe. Journalism is not a crime," he added.

Whelan's brother thanked President Biden and others for the release of his family member after “Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days.”

"Paul Whelan is free. Our family is grateful to the United States government for making Paul’s freedom a reality. We’d like to thank President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and National Security Advisor Sullivan for their engagement with the Russian Federation to create the environment where Paul’s freedom became a possibility," David Whelan said in a statement today.

He went on to thank members of Congress and people who supported his brother’s release "from across the globe."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said of the release of the four U.S. residents today that "through the extraordinary efforts of countless people in the State Department and across our government, the United States was able to strike an agreement to secure their freedom, as well as that of Vladimir Kara-Murza and twelve others held prisoner inside Russia."

Blinken said the U.S. was grateful for the support from allies that made the deal possible and appreciated the Turkish government for providing a location for the safe return of individuals to the U.S. and Germany.

"Through many difficult conversations over the past several years, I told the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia that we would not forget them," Blinken said. "I know there are many times over those years where they have wondered if our work would ever bear fruit. But I also know that they never gave up hope, and neither did we."

"My pledge to the families of those still separated from their families is the same that I made to those returning home today," he said. "We will not forget you, and we will not rest until you see your loved ones again."

Three Americans and one permanent U.S. resident were among those freed from Russian captivity Thursday in one the biggest prisoner exchanges since the Cold War — a feat of dogged diplomacy that involved half-a-dozen countries and took months to pull off.

Wall Street Journal reporterEvan Gershkovich,who was convicted in July of espionage after what the U.S. government and his employer called a sham trial, was released after months of public campaigning by his newspaper, family and fellow journalists from around the world.

The cause of former MarinePaul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage, was championed largely by his family and he was freed after having already served four years of a 16-year sentence in a grim Russian prison.

Two more of the released prisoners are also journalists:Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russian British national critical of the Kremlin, andAlsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American reporter with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who is also a permanent resident of the U.S.

Read the full story here.

President Joe Biden said in a statement today that the three Americans and one American green-card holder "who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home."

"The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. 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," Biden said. "Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over."

Biden said he was grateful to the U.S. allies "who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome— including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey."

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that today’s prisoner exchange was “historic.”

“Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close U.S. partners and allies working together,” Sullivan said on a call with reporters.

“It’s the culmination of many rounds of complex, painstaking negotiations over many, many months,” he said.

The White House National Security Council said in a press call today that the three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident returning home from Russia, include: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and legal permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The 12 German nationals and who will return to Germany, include: Dieter Voronin, Kevin Lick, Rico Krieger, Patrick Schoebel, Herman Moyzhes, Ilya Yashin, Liliya Chanysheva, Kseniya Fadeyeva, Vadim Ostanin, Andrey Pivovarov, Oleg Orlov, Sasha Skochilenko, according to the NSC call.

The individuals returning to Russia, include: Vadim Krasikov (from Germany), Artem Viktorovich Dultsev (from Slovenia), Anna Valerevna Dultseva (from Slovenia), Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin (from Norway), Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov (from Poland), Roman Seleznev (from the U.S.), Vladislav Klyushin (from the U.S.), and Vadim Konoshchenock (from the U.S.).

Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker celebrated the release of Evan Gershkovich with a post on X.

Three U.S. citizens — including journalistEvan Gershkovichand Marine veteranPaul Whelan— wrongly imprisoned in Russia were released and on their way home today, part of a major multinational prisoner exchange the likes of which has not been seen since the Cold War.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalistAlsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American, andVladimir Kara-MurzaJr., a dual Russian British national and U.S. permanent resident who was sentenced on treason charges to 25 years in April 2023, were also released.

Read the full story here.

The Turkish government said today that the prisoner exchange is expected to take place in Ankara, Turkey’s capital.

As a prisoner swap is underway between the United States and Russia, here is a reminder of some of the high-profile names that could potentially be included. NBC News is not yet able to confirm who exactly is involved in the prisoner swap.

The highest-profile U.S. prisoners in Russia right now are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

Gershkovich, 32, detained in March 2023, was convicted of espionage by a Russian court this year and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July. He has been in prison for some 70 weeks now, Allie Raffa, an NBC News White House correspondent, said Thursday morning on MSNBC.

Whelan, 54, who has been detained since visiting Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and has been serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony.

He was notably not a part of the high-profile December 2022 prisoner exchange of WNBA star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout.

A prisoner swap was underway between the United States,Russia, and other countries on Thursday, according to asenior Biden administrationofficial.

The trade is a rare example of cooperation amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, including from sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Relations between the two countries had been strained before the invasion, following Russian interference in the 2016 election and its annexation of Crimea.

Read the full story here.