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.’”