Biden calls Russia prisoner swap deal that freed WSJ's Gershkovich, Whelan a 'feat of diplomacy'

An undated picture obtained by Reuters shows Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov who was sentenced to life in 2021 for the assassination of a Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park, in Berlin, Germany, August 1, 2024. (Reuters)

In the biggest prisoner swap with Moscow since the Cold War, the Biden administration on Thursday secured the liberation of 16 American and German nationals held prisoner in Russia and Belarus in exchange for the release of eight Russians.

The top of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s list was hit man Vadim Krasikov, who used the cover name Vadim Sokolov and was convicted by a German court for the 2019 assassination of a former Chechen commander near Berlin’s parliamentary building.

"Krasikov is a high-ranking colonel in the elite Spetsnaz unit of the FSB," Rebekah Koffler, former DIA intelligence officer and author of "Putin’s Playbook," told Fox News Digital in reference to Russia’s intelligence agency the Federal Security Service (FSB).

"Krasikov is a very high-value asset who will be debriefed by the Russian security services on the operation, how he got apprehended, what he learned during the interrogations in Germany, and everything the Russians are interested in," she explained. "These debriefings will help the Russians to make improvements in their operational tradecraft for Russian intelligence."

Read more about Russia’s “high-value asset” acquisition.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

McCaul warned about the message the deal sends Putin. (Getty Images)

A top Republican warned on Thursday that the Biden administration's choice to trade Russian criminals for detained Americans – including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan – could be sending a "dangerous message" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, joined others in celebrating the releases, saying he was "thrilled" to hear the detained Americans were coming home.

"But I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime," he added.

He further stressed, "We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin, who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett, who is held in Afghanistan. We must get all of them home to their families too."

Read more about Rep. McCaul’s concerns over the swap.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Bryan Boughton contributed to this report.

Video from the Wall Street Journal newsroom shows journalists standing and cheering after learning one of its reporters, Evan Gershkovich , had been released to U.S. custody as part of a prisoner swap with Russia.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage.

The Wall Street Journal shared video from its newsroom after editor in chief Emma Tucker announced Gershkovich had been released.

The video shows an image of Gershkovich projected on a screen, and underneath it reads, #IStandWithEvan.

The video also shows the Wall Street Journal staff cheering and clapping about the news.

The Hostages & Wrongful Detainees flag will be flown at the White House.

The White House will fly the Hostages & Wrongful Detainees flag for the first time, after the release of hostages into U.S. custody on Thursday.

“Today, as the United States celebrates the release of Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan, we fly the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag to remember all the other Americans who remain held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” a White House official said. “The flag symbolizes our enduring commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our fellow Americans, and our sacred vow to continue working tirelessly until every American is accounted for and returns safely back home.

“We see you, and we stand with you,” the official added. “This is the first time the flag will be flown at the White House in celebration.”

Fox News' Nicolas Rojas contributed to this report.

Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan smile aboard an airplane after being released from Russian prison in a historic prisioner swap on Thursday, August 1, 2024. (U.S. Government)

President Biden shared a picture of the Americans who were released on Thursday in a post on X.

“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,” Bideen wrote.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American veteran Paul Whelan were released into U.S. custody after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States and Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday morning.

Photos of former US Marine Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, who were both freed from Russia in a prisoner swap on Thursday, August 1.

New images of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American veteran Paul Whelan being released into U.S. custody.

The images, which were from Russian TV, show Gershkovich on a plane, though it is not clear what the circumstances are behind the photo of Whelan.

Gershkovich and American veteran Whelan are in U.S. custody after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States and Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday morning. Alsu Kurmasheva, another American citizen, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green card holder, were also freed. 

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Russia's state-owned defence corporation Rostec CEO in Moscow on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Gavriil GRIGOROV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a request to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin in his exit paperwork before release.

Gershkovich and American veteran Paul Whelan are in U.S. custody after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States and Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday morning.

Alsu Kurmasheva, another American citizen, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green card holder, were also freed.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich was required to submit paperwork for a presidential pardon to complete the swap.

Gershkovich reportedly used that form to leave a brief note asking for a sit-down interview with the Russian president.

Emma Tucker, editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journa, speaks at the Digital Life Design (DLD) innovation conference. Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The Wall Street Journal published a letter reacting to the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich on Thursday.

"Today is a joyous day for the safe return of our colleague Evan Gershkovich, who left a Russian aircraft moments ago in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, as part of a prisoner swap with Russia," the letter, written by editor-in-chief Emma Tucker, reads.

"That it was done in a trade for Russian operatives guilty of serious crimes was predictable as the only solution given President Putin’s cynicism," it continues. "We are grateful to President Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didn’t commit."

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage.

The Biden administration declared him "wrongfully detained" and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face.

"All those who spoke up for Evan and worked for his release—the U.S. and allied governments, Congress, the media industry, readers of the Journal, supporters of the free press, opponents of arbitrary detention, those moved by the plight of a young American journalist behind bars—can know that their support made a huge difference and is greatly, greatly appreciated," Tucker said in her letter.

The full statement can be read here.

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

The family of Paul Whelan published a statement on Thursday acknowledging the release of the former U.S. Marine.

"Paul Whelan is free. Our family is grateful to the United States government for making Paul’s freedom a reality," the statement reads. "We’d like to thank President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and National Security Advisor Sullivan for their engagement with the Russian Federation to create the environment where Paul’s freedom became a possibility."

The family noted that Whelan has been in Russian custody for 2,043 days.

Whelan had been wrongfully detained by Russian authorities for more than five years, according to the U.S. State Department. His release is part of a massive swap of political prisoners and journalists involving the United States and Germany. 

Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan and former U.S. Marine, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government dispute. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. 

"His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract concessions," the family said.

The full statement can be read here.

Wall Street Journal leaders have said the "sham conviction" of Evan Gershkovich was a disgrace.(NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is free, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gershkovich, American veteran Paul Whelan and others are expected to be in U.S. custody soon as part of a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States and Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday morning.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. The Biden administration declared him "wrongfully detained" and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face.

Whelan had languished in Russian custody for years.

A well-placed source told Fox News that Turkish intelligence officials played a key role in mediating the prisoner swap. 

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024.(AP)

President Biden has called the prisoner swap deal with Russia Thursday that secured the release of The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others a "feat of diplomacy."

"Today, three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza," he said in a statement.