Former U.S. President Trump (Donald Trump) has stated that Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who is currently detained in Russia, will be released following his victory in the November presidential election.
On Thursday (May 23), Trump posted on his media platform “Truth Social,” saying, “Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the election, but definitely before I take office. He will safely return home and reunite with his family.”
He expressed confidence, saying, “Russian President Vladimir Putin will do this for me, but he won’t do it for others, and we won’t pay any fees!” Trump did not disclose the specific actions taken to facilitate Gershkovich’s release.
However, according to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the matter on Thursday, stated that Putin “has not been in contact with Donald Trump.”
Since March 2023, the 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich has been detained by Russian authorities on charges of engaging in espionage. This is the first incident since 1986 where an American journalist has been detained in Russia on espionage charges.
The U.S. government, his employer, and Gershkovich himself have vehemently denied these allegations, repeatedly calling on the Russian authorities to release him immediately.
At the end of last month, Gershkovich appealed again to end his pre-trial detention, but the Russian court ultimately rejected it, meaning the American citizen awaiting trial will remain detained at least until June 30.
In late April, Trump also publicly stated to the media that he would work to secure Gershkovich’s release.
In an interview with TIME magazine about his outlook for his potential second term, Trump said, “The journalist should be released, and he will be released. I don’t know if Biden will get him released, (but) I will get him released.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly called for Gershkovich’s release and is working to bring home another American, Paul Whelan, who is imprisoned in Russia on similar charges.
54-year-old Whelan, a Michigan native, a corporate security executive, and a former U.S. Marine, was arrested by Russian authorities in December 2018 on espionage-related charges and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. He remains detained in Russia to this day.