Shortly after the release, Joe Biden stated, "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.”
In addition to Gershkovich and Whelan, US journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza, also a Russian-British dissident, were released. Kara-Murza, a US green card holder, had been jailed for 25 years.
In a White House briefing the president re-iterated how the men had all found themselves visiting Russia for various reasons and were "falsely accused of being spies" and were arrested "for no legitimate reason."
In a statement posted to X, Biden credited allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey for standing with the US through "complex negotiations." 16 people in total were released from Russia. In exchange, the Kremlin received 8 prisoners including hitman Vadim Krasikov who had been serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a rebel leader in Berlin Park. Krasikov was reportedly pivotal to the deal, as Putin had been pushing for his release since 2021.
Krasikov had shot Chechen fighter Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili in broad daylight, "execution style," per CNN. He was convicted of murder in Germany in 2019 and a court determined he acted on behalf of the Russian state. Russians released from the US include Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznev who were serving sentences for financial crimes and fraud.
In mid-July, Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison on espionage charges. He had been detained since March 29, 2023.
This is a breaking story, refresh for updates.
