American journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan were among four former prisoners released by Russia yesterday and finally set foot on American soil again on Thursday night.
A plane carrying Americans freed in a major Russian prisoner swap landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and was greeted on the runway by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Welcome home,” Biden told reporters on the tarmac after meeting with the released prisoners. “If we work together, there is nothing beyond our capabilities. There is nothing … We are the United States of America.”
Behind the scenes of the prisoner swap to free WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich from a Russian prison
Evan Gershkovich is all smiles as he arrives accompanied by his mother, Ella Millman, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
The Americans released were Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, military veterans Paul Whelan and Ars Kurmasheva, and American green card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The four released prisoners did not speak to reporters, but were greeted and hugged by loved ones. Gershkovich was seen hugging several people, many of whom appeared to be colleagues from The Wall Street Journal. The newly released prisoners will now fly to San Antonio, Texas, for further medical examinations.
“Today is a special day. I’m so grateful for the president and what he’s done. This is an incredible day. You can see that by looking at the family,” Harris told reporters.
White House takes full responsibility for the release of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia: ‘Vintage Joe Biden’
President Joe Biden greets Paul Whelan, who was released from Russian custody, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., on August 1, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested while covering a trip to the Ural Mountain city of Yekaterinburg on March 29, 2023. He was arrested on suspicion of espionage.
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Whelan was jailed in December 2018 on espionage-related charges that he had been fighting with the U.S. government from the start.
In a multi-nation exchange of 24 prisoners, Russia negotiated the release of eight prisoners held in the United States in exchange for the release of an American.
The prisoners previously held in the United States but released are Vadim Krasikov from Germany, Artyom Viktorovich Durtsev from Slovenia, Anna Valerevna Durtseva from Slovenia, Mikhail Valerevich Mikusin from Norway, Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov from Poland, Roman Seleznev from the United States, Vladislav Klyushin from the United States, and Vadim Konoshenok from the United States.
