With The Historic Russia Prisoner Swap, Three Americans Are Back In The Country

Just before midnight, the jet carrying Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who holds dual citizenship with the United States and Russia, touched down in the United States to be reunited with their family.

They were greeted upon arrival by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden.

This comes after the most historic prisoner exchange between the US and Russia in post-Soviet history on Thursday.

Moscow freed reporter Gershkovich. He was detained in 2023 and convicted in July of spying accusations, which he and the US administration vehemently denied.

In a statement made public by the newspaper, his family said how excited they were to meet him, give him a hug, and witness his brave smile in person.

Emma Tucker, the paper’s editor-in-chief, called it a “happy day.”

Whelan is a corporate security executive from Michigan who was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of espionage, an allegation that he and Washington have refuted. Kurmasheva is a journalist for Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe who was found guilty in July of disseminating false information about the Russian military. Her company and family have refuted the charges against her.