What we know
- Four U.S. residents have been released from prison in Russia as part of a massive exchange involving seven nations and 24 people.
- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva as they arrived in the U.S. late last night. Russia also released Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., who had been jailed on treason charges for 25 years.
- Gershkovich was wrongly sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison last month after he was found guilty of espionage in a case that the Journal and the U.S. government condemned as a sham.
- In his first public comments, Gershkovich called for the release of political prisoners languishing in Russian jails. "Nobody knows them publicly, they have various political beliefs," he said.
- Whelan, 54, who had been detained since he visited Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and had been serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony. "I’m glad I’m home. I’m never going back there again," he told reporters.
- The three released prisoners were offered medical assessments at Brooke Army Medical Center, a defense official told NBC News.
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Jake Sullivan defends Biden admin's work on releasing U.S. prisoners around the world
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said he will continue to fight to release more U.S. citizens detained in Russia after complaints from their families that their loved ones weren't part of this week's deal.
Speaking to NBC’s “TODAY” show this morning from the White House, Sullivan defended the administration's record and said there were now fewer Americans detained abroad than when Biden came to power in 2020.
"These are very tough decisions and the president has to weigh, as do the other leaders, giving up criminals to get Americans and other citizens home," he said.
"But at the end of the day, the president asked this question: 'Am I going to let these people rot for life in a Russian jail?' And his answer to that question was no.
Sullivan was asked about a statement from the family of school teacher Marc Fogel, who said they were "heartbroken" that he remained detained after the current prisoner release. They argued that Fogel is not rich, doesn't have powerful connections, and has been left to die in prison.
"Paul Whelan, a former Marine who we got out of Russia is not powerful and politically connected, Trevor Reed, another former Marine who we got out of Russia, is not powerful or politically connected," Sullivan responded.
Sullivan said the administration was working daily "to get more than 70 Americans out of prison or out of hostage-taking situations around the world," adding that he personally continues to work on the Fogel case.
Evan Gershkovich calls for the release of political prisoners in Russia
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: 'This is how Putin runs his country'
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.
He also told reporters at the Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio early today that President Joe Biden had given him the U.S. flag pin he was wearing.
Whelan said he was “looking forward to seeing my family down here and recuperating from five years, seven months and five days of just absolute nonsense by the Russian government.”
He said the release didn’t feel real until their plane flew over Britain.
“I’m a British citizen, Irish citizen, Canadian and American. So, as we came over England, and I looked down, you know, that’s when it became real,” he said.
Whelan said he had so many letters and cards arriving for him in prison that the FSB, the Russian security agency, stopped handing them over.
Released prisoners and their families land in San Antonio
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.
Biden expresses 'satisfaction' at bringing prisoners home
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.
President says other countries made difficult decisions to get deal done
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.
'We've got more work to do,' Biden says
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 shared videos of freed Americans’ families talking to loved ones
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, Harris welcome home Americans on tarmac
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.
Freed Americans touch down on U.S. soil
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.