Russia-US Prisoner Exchange Live Updates: President Biden, Kamala Harris greet Americans, including journalist Gershkovich, as they arrive in US

Source: AP/Reuters

Evan Gershkovich’s friends and colleagues at the Wall Street Journal celebrate his arrival. (X/@WSJ)

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was convicted of “spreading false information” about the military, according to the website of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan.

Here's our detailed article on why Alsu Kurmasheva was convicted.

Former US Marine Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, is among two dozen detainees from the United States, Russia and a number of their allies freed on Thursday in the biggest prisoner exchange since the Cold War.

Born in Ottawa, Canada, to British parents of Irish origin, Whelan later moved to Novi, Michigan. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 2003-2008, much of the time as an administrative clerk in Iraq. At the end of that period, he was given a bad-conduct discharge for larceny and other lesser offences, after trying to steal $10,000. Learn more about his life here.

Source: AP/Reuters

Source: AP

Gershkovich was the first to disembark the plane in Maryland, followed by Paul Whelan. Alsu Kurmasheva was the last one to greet the President. 

The Wall Street Journal reporter met his colleagues who had come to receive him and then headed to the press arena to speak with the reporters. 

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcome Evan Gershkovich, along with former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva back home. 

After successfully getting a prisoner exchange deal done with Russia, US President Joe Biden shared a picture from his Oval Office of families interacting with their loved ones who were freed in the deal.

President Biden, while sharing the picture on X, said "Today, I stood beside the families of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir in the Oval Office as they spoke to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom."

The deal which is being touted as one of the biggest since Cold War era, included 24 prioners from various parts of the world and the swap was done in Turkey.

The plane which is carrying four US bound individuals is expected to reach by 8:30am IST and according to CNN, its last updated location was Canada.

Former President Donald Trump has criticised the prisoner swap between US and Russia and raised several questions regarding it.

Trump asked "So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash? Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs?"

The Republican candidate for the US presidential elections claimed USA is getting extorted in guise of prisoners exchange and that "Our 'negotiators' are always an embarrassment to us."

Trump claimed that during his tenure from 2016-2020, he got back many hostages and when it came to give back something in return, he said they gave "nothing".

After completing the prisoner swap deal, President Vladimir Putin was himself present at Moscow's airport to receive the eight prisoners returning from various countries.

The Kremlin said that President Putin promised to meet the returnees again and discuss about their future. Kremlin also detailed that Putin said that all of them will be presented with state awards.

In a historic prisoner swap deal among the US and its allies and Russia, 24 prisoners some of whom were convicted and some of them had their trial ongoing, were exchanged in Turkey.

The prisoner swap is being considered as the biggest since the Cold War era and holds larger significance in context to the upcoming US Presidential elections.

President Putin, in his address to the returnees said, "First of all, I would like to greet everyone with returning to the motherland. I would like to address those of you who have a direct relation to the military service. I would like to thank you for your loyalty to the oath, devotion to your duty and your motherland, that hasn’t forgotten you for a minute and now you are home."

In a major relief for Wall Street Journal's reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been released from Russian prison on Thursday following a prisoner swap deal between US and its allies and Russia, his family has issued a statement.

Evan was held in March 2023 by Russian authorities and recently got convicted of espionage. The WSJ reporter pleaded got guilty during the trials but Russian court held him convicted. He has remained in Russian custody for about 491 days, according to a statement by his family.

Evan's family said, '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.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally welcomed the freed prisoners in Moscow, in a historic development of a prisoner swap deal with the US and its allies. (AP Photo)

Today's exchange deal saw eight prisoners return to Russia:

- Vadim Krasikov: Known as one of Vladimir Putin's top demands in any swap, Krasikov was arrested in 2019 for the daylight murder of Chechen exile Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in a Berlin park.
  
- Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva: This couple were deep-cover Russian spies posing as a married Argentinian pair. They resided in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with their two children and are believed to have carried out intelligence tasks across Europe.

- Mikhail Mikushin: Arrested in Tromsø, Norway, Mikushin was a researcher at a university, ironically focused on hybrid security threats.

- Vladislav Klyushin: A Russian businessman with Kremlin connections, Klyushin was sentenced to nine years in a US prison for his involvement in a $90 million insider-trading scheme involving hacked earnings information.

- Roman Seleznev: The son of a Russian Duma deputy, Seleznev received the longest-ever hacking-related sentence in the US, totaling 27 years in prison.

- Vadim Konoshchenok: Arrested for attempting to export American technology intended for Russia's use in its invasion of Ukraine.

- Pablo González/Pavel Rubtsov: A dual Spanish-Russian national and journalist, González was arrested in Poland near the Ukrainian border in March 2022. He was accused of being a Russian spy and has been held in Poland since then.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the returning prisoners with a handshake and a pat on the back as they arrived in Moscow, Reuters reports.

Putin congratulated the released Russian prisoners, stating he “wanted to congratulate everyone on their return to the motherland,” according to the New York Times. He was accompanied by Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russian intelligence, and Andrei Belousov, the Minister of Defence.

A plane carrying Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap has arrived in Moscow from Ankara, says Russian state media.

The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had issued a decree pardoning 12 prisoners, including three Americans, who were released as part of a swap with Western countries on Thursday. The move, according to the Kremlin, was aimed at facilitating the return of Russian captives held abroad.

In its statement, the Kremlin expressed gratitude to all nations involved in preparing the swap and specifically thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for releasing German national Rico Krieger.

(Reuters)

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will welcome the newly released American citizens at Joint Base Andrews, according to the White House's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. 

Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva are expected to arrive on US soil tonight, Sullivan stated. 

Vladimir Kara-Murza will be traveling to Germany, where his family will meet him. He is anticipated to return to the US to meet with the President later, Sullivan added.

US President Joe Biden shared a photo of the recently freed Americans aboard a plane departing from Russia, stating:

"After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families."

Many of those freed had worked with the late Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading opposition figure. His widow Yulia Navalnaya said the releases were "a great happiness".
"Every released political prisoner is a huge victory and joy. No one should be held hostage by Putin, tortured and die in Putin's prison," she wrote on X.

The exchange of 24 prisoners and two children at an airport in Turkey's capital, Ankara, has been completed, said Reuters, citing a Turkish security source confirmed on Thursday, marking the end of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.  

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on the prisoner exchange with the West, said on Thursday that traitors to his country should rot and die in prison, but it was more useful for Moscow to get its people home.
"And let the traitors now feverishly pick up new names and actively disguise themselves under witness protection programmes," Medvedev wrote in his Telegram channel. (Reuters)

In a post on X, Vice President Kamala Harris says: "Today we celebrate the release of Paul, Evan, Alsu, Vladimir, and others who were unjustly held in Russia.

"It gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is over and that they will soon be reunited with their families."

Harris adds that she and Biden "will not stop working until every American who is wrongfully detained or held hostage is brought home."

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) announced that it had “conducted the most extensive prisoner exchange operation of recent times” on the tarmac in Ankara, involving 26 individuals held in seven different countries: the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus.

“The prisoner exchange encompassed the exchange of significant figures that have been sought by all parties for a long period,” MIT said, naming five key figures including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan, both of whom were jailed in Russia.

Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and German national Rico Krieger were also named in the statement. Vadim Krasikov, described by MIT as a colonel with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and a hitman jailed in Germany, was also included in the swap.

Seven different aircraft were used to transport the 26 individuals to Turkey, MIT reported. Two flights came from the United States, and one each from Russia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Norway, to execute the intricate operation in the Turkish capital. Mediation for the swap began under MIT’s auspices in Turkey last month.

The complex nature of the operation involved removing prisoners from each aircraft, transporting them to secure locations for health checks, and ensuring all parts of the deal were ratified before reboarding the planes for their respective destinations.

“Ten prisoners, including two minors, were relocated to Russia, thirteen prisoners to Germany, and three prisoners to the United States,” MIT said. “This operation has been recorded in history as the most extensive prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia, and Germany in recent years.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday announced that “Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva are on their way to the United States to reunite with their families.”

He expressed his appreciation by stating, “I’m grateful for all of those who worked to secure their freedom and for our allies and partners who made this deal possible.”

US President Joe Biden has released a statement about the prisoner exchange.

He termed the deal a “feat of diplomacy” and vowed that he “will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. “

Turkish intelligence announced that it was coordinating an extensive prisoner exchange, signalling a major swap between Russia and the United States was underway.

"Our organisation has undertaken a major mediation role in this exchange operation, which is the most comprehensive of the recent period," the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) said in a statement.

Jailed U.S. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were among 26 prisoners from the United States, Russia and a number of their allies being freed in a major exchange, Turkey's presidency said.

It said 10 prisoners, including two minors, had been moved to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the United States. Also involved in the swap were Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus.

Turkish intelligence had announced earlier that it was coordinating an extensive prisoner exchange, signalling a major swap between Russia and the United States was underway.

The Turkish presidency announced on Thursday that jailed US Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were among 26 prisoners from the United States, Russia, and several allied nations being released in a major exchange.