Russia released several Americans including Evan Gershkovich, a journalist from The Wall Street Journal, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan on Thursday (August 1st). This was the largest prisoner swap between the two countries since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with over twenty individuals being released on both sides.
According to the reports from Associated Press, the exchange took place in Turkey, where approximately 24 people were set free.
Despite the strained relations between the United States and Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this deal was reached after years of secret negotiations between the two countries.
32-year-old Gershkovich, a journalist based in Moscow for The Wall Street Journal, was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian judge in July this year. In March 2023, he was arrested in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage. This marked the first instance since 1986 of an American journalist being detained in Russia on accusations of espionage.
Whelan was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges. He has denied the allegations against him.
In a statement released online, Stephen Capus, the President and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, confirmed that Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-born American journalist working for the station, was also released as part of this prisoner exchange.
The United States also paid a price for this exchange, with some Russian nationals convicted of serious crimes in Western countries being released as part of the agreement.
U.S. officials proposed the exchange for Gershkovich last year, but it was rejected by Russia. Since then, the U.S. has not publicly disclosed any potential agreements but has been actively engaged in negotiations.