American reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan were among four former prisoners released from Russia who finally set foot on American soil Thursday night.
A plane carrying the Americans freed by Russia in a major prisoner swap landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where they were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the tarmac.
“Welcome home,” Biden told reporters after meeting with the freed prisoners. “There’s nothing beyond our capacity if we work together. Nothing…we’re the United States of America.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, veteran Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva were the three freed Americans, along with American green-card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The released prisoners did not speak to reporters but were greeted and hugged by loved ones. Gershkovich was seen embracing several people, many of whom may have been colleagues from the Wall Street Journal. The newly-released prisoners are now scheduled to fly to San Antonio, Texas, for further medical evaluation.
Vice President Harris addressed reporters, saying, “This is an extraordinary day. I’m very thankful for our president and what he has done. This is an incredible day, and you can see it in the families.”
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. He was accused of espionage.
Whelan was jailed in December 2018 on espionage-related charges that he and the U.S. government have disputed from the beginning.
In the swap involving 24 prisoners across multiple countries, Russia negotiated the release of eight prisoners held in U.S. custody in exchange for the release of the Americans.
The prisoners previously held in the U.S. and released were Vadim Krasikov from Germany; Artem Viktorovich Dultsev from Slovenia; Anna Valerevna Dultseva from Slovenia; Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin from Norway; Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov from Poland; Roman Seleznev from the U.S.; Vladislav Klyushin from the U.S.; and Vadim Konoshchenock from the U.S.
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