Biden gathered the families of Whelan, Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimor Kara-Murza at the White House on Thursday to relay the news that their loved ones were heading home, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier on Thursday.Prisoner swap, which involved 24 detainees and seven countries. German national Rico Krieger, imprisoned in Belarus, Russian dissident Ilya Yashin, convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, jailed in Germany, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were also part of the exchange
The president of the news organization Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty welcomed the news of the release of one of the outlet’s journalists in a prisoner swap.
Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army.
“We welcome news of Alsu’s release and are grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia,” RFE/RL President & CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.
Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, thanked the US government for allowing her to be reunited with her family after being separated for nearly two years.
“Today, my daughters and I are witnessing a historic act of resolve and compassion by the U.S. government and its allies, demonstrating that the free world values human life and family above all else, even when it means exchanging real criminals and spies to save wrongfully detained Americans,” Butorin said in the statement.
David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, said his “work as our family spokesperson is over” and Paul can now tell his story.
“This is now Paul’s story to tell, and I’m sure he will, in time, communicate how he wants to tell it,” David Whelan said in a note to the media after his brother was released.
“It is vital that he be given agency over his life again, something the Kremlin took away for so many years,” he added.
He praised the work of journalists for keeping his brother’s story in the public consciousness.
“I cannot adequately express my deep admiration for your hard work and courage. Some of you were hounded from Russia, or labeled foreign agents, and took great risks to follow Paul’s story,” he said.
“Many of you kept after the story even when editors wanted you to write about other things. I realize that many of you cover Russia but I hope some of you will turn your energy to the growing use of wrongful detention as a method of extortion by nation-states. There are many families who would appreciate your help in their advocacy efforts.”
“Every story has an ending and this is the end of the story of our family’s advocacy for Paul,” he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that three Americans are now on their way back to the US after a massive US-Russia prisoner swap.
“Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva are now on their way back to the United States from Russia. Through the extraordinary efforts of countless people in the State Department and across our government, the United States was able to strike an agreement to secure their freedom, as well as that of Vladimir Kara-Murza and twelve others held prisoner inside Russia,” Blinken said in a statement.
Blinken thanked five countries for their support in this historic deal.
“We are grateful for the support we had from a number of our allies who made this deal possible, in particular Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia. We further appreciate the Turkish government providing a location for the safe return of these individuals to the United States and Germany,” Blinken said.
Blinken said that he has had many “difficult conversations” in recent years when he “told the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia that we would not forget them.”
“I know there are many times over those years where they have wondered if our work would ever bear fruit. But I also know that they never gave up hope, and neither did we,” Blinken said.
Blinken also reiterated that pledge to American families whose loved ones are not coming home today: “We will not forget you, and we will not rest until you see your loved ones again,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the multinational prisoner swap with Russia that has resulted in the release of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, saying it gives her “great comfort” to know they’ll soon be reunited with their loved ones.
“Today, we celebrate the release of Paul, Evan, Alsu, Vladimir, and others who were unjustly held in Russia,” the Democratic presidential candidate wrote on X. “It gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is over and that they will soon be reunited with their families. @POTUS and I will not stop working until every American who is wrongfully detained or held hostage is brought home.”
Harris is currently in Houston where she will deliver the eulogy at the funeral services for the late congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Alongside the most high-profile Russian prisoner to be released, Vadim Krasikov, here are the other Russians who were part of the exchange:
Vadim Konoshchenok, 48:
Konoshchenok was facing charges of conspiracy over his role in a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The US Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Konoshchenok is a Russian citizen with alleged ties to the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency. He is accused of being part of a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition to Russia, violating US export controls, economic sanctions and other criminal statutes.
Vladislav Klyushin, 43:
A Russian businessman, Klyushin was sentenced in Boston last year to nine years in prison for his role in what the US authorities called “an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million through securities trades based on confidential corporate information stolen from US computer networks.”
Klyushin was arrested in Sion, Switzerland, in March 2021 and extradited to the United States in December 2021. On top of his prison sentence, he was also ordered to forfeit more than $34 million and pay restitutions.
Roman Valeryevich Seleznev, 40:
Roman Seleznev is a convicted hacker and credit card fraudster who was serving a 27-year sentence in the US.
Seleznev was arrested in the Maldives in 2014. He was extradited to the US and sentenced in April 2017 for hacking into point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers to the criminal underworld. In November that year, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Artem Dultsev (age unknown)
Artem Dultsev is a Russian spy who was living undercover in Slovenia, posing as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gish.
He pleaded guilty to espionage at a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and was sentenced to more than a year and half in prison. According to a statement from the court, he was set to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Slovenia for five years.
Anna Dultseva (age unknown)
Anna Dultseva, pleaded guilty to espionage alongside Dultsev on Wednesday. Also a Russian spy, she posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and is thought to be married to Dultsev. She went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. Like Dultsev, she was sentenced to time served and deportation.
Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin (age unknown)
Mikushin is a Russian spy arrested in Norway in 2022. He was working at the University of Tromsø in the Arctic Circle, pretending to be a Brazilian researcher.
Pavel Rubtsov (age unknown)
A Russian spy who was living in Poland under the false pretence of being a Spanish journalist called Pablo Gonzales. He was arrested in February 2022, according to the Polish state news agency PAP.
Marc Fogel, an American sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in Russia, is not included in the massive US-Russia prisoner swap, his family’s lawyer Sasha Phillips tells CNN.
Fogel called his family today from the penal colony in Russia which meant that he was not on his way out of the country, Phillips said. The White House has not called his family, but State Department Deputy Secretary for Management Richard Verma called to tell them the news about an hour ago, Phillips said.
The news was shocking for the family, who has been working tirelessly to try to make sure that Fogel would be included in any prisoner swap.
Fogel was charged with smuggling drugs and given a 14-year prison sentence in 2022. His family and lawyer said he was carrying it for medical purposes that had been recommended by a doctor to treat “severe spinal pain.”
Fogel has not been deemed wrongfully detained by the US. He worked for nearly a decade as a history teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where children of US diplomats were among his students.
