American journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan were among four former prisoners released from Russia yesterday who finally set foot on American soil again on Thursday night.
A plane carrying Americans released by Russia in a massive prisoner of war swap landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and was greeted on the tarmac by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Welcome home,” Biden told reporters on the tarmac after visiting released prisoners. “If we work together, nothing is beyond our reach. Nothing is beyond our reach… We are the United States of America.”
Behind the scenes of the prisoner swap that freed WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russian prison
Evan Gershkovich smiles as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, accompanied by his mother, Ella Milman, on Aug. 1, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, veterans Paul Whelan and Arsu Kurmasheva are the three Americans who were released, as well as U.S. green card holder Vladimir Kara-Moore tie.
The four released prisoners did not speak to reporters but were welcomed and embraced by their relatives. Gershkovich was seen hugging several people, many of whom may have been Wall Street Journal colleagues. The newly released inmates are currently scheduled to be flown to San Antonio, Texas, for further medical evaluation.
“This is an extraordinary day,” Harris said while addressing reporters. “I’m so grateful for our president and everything he’s done. It’s an incredible day and you can see it in the family.”
White House applauds release of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia: ‘Vintage Joe Biden’
President Joe Biden greets Paul Whelan, who was released from Russian custody, as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., August 1, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Gershkovic, a 32-year-old reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested on March 29, 2023 while reporting on a trip to Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains. He was accused of espionage.
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Whelan was jailed in December 2018 on espionage-related charges that he and the U.S. government disputed from the start.
In the cross-border exchange of 24 prisoners, Russia negotiated the release of eight prisoners held by the United States in exchange for the release of Americans.
Previously released prisoners in the United States are Vadim Krasikov from Germany; Artem Viktorovich Dultsev from Slovenia; Anna Valerevna Dultseva from Slovenia; Mikhail ‧Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin (Norway); Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov (Poland); Roman Seleznev (USA); Vladislav Klyushin (USA); and Vadim Konoshchenock (USA)
