The White House shared new images of the three prisoners from the U.S. who were released by Russia in the largest swap since the Cold War.
The three American citizens released were Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva. A fourth American green-card holder, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was also released as part of the deal on Thursday.
In one image shared by the White House, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and Whelan were seen speaking with President Biden on the phone.
In another picture, the three Americans were seen holding a U.S. flag while in Ankara, after being released.
Brittney Griner rejoiced upon hearing the news of the prisoner exchange that freed three Americans from Russian detention on Thursday, something the WNBA star is very familiar with.
“Great day. It’s a great day. It’s a great day,” Griner said after the U.S. women;s team beat Belgium 87-74 to clinch a berth in the Paris Olympic Games quarterfinals. “We’ll talk more about it later. But head over heels happy for the families right now. Any day that Americans come home, that’s a win. That’s a win.”
Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, was part of a high-profile prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States in 2022 after she was sentenced to nine years in jail for drug possession and smuggling that year. sShe was freed in in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“I’m sure it’ll be emotional even more a little bit later on,” Griner said. "Yeah. I’m just happy. Like this is a big win. A huge win.”
Since returning home, Griner has worked with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign formed in 2022 by the family members of American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta said Russia's practice of detaining Americans is a form of "blackmail" meant to force the release of its citizens.
"The Russians pick up these people, make false charges against them, throw them in prison, and basically use them then as pawns to try to get back people that they want," the former intelligence chief told Neil Cavuto on "Your World." "The problem is that this then creates an incentive down the road for them to basically pick up more people in order to get the people back that they want. It's not a very comforting process."
Vadim Krasikov 58, is being released by Germany, where he has been imprisoned for murder, as part of Thursday's prisoner exchange. Krasikov was convicted for the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan "Tornike" Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.
"I'm sure the linchpin here was getting Krasikov back," Panetta said. "Krasikov is an assassin for the Russians."
Getting Krasikov back is a big deals for the Moscow, said Panetta.
"In his (Russian President Vladimir Putin ) mind, getting somebody like that back basically sends a message to others that Russia will do everything they can to get back those who do their bidding," he said. "And, I think Putin considers this to be a success without question"
The Associated Press contributed to this report
{{#rendered}}President Biden is scheduled to greet the Americans released by Russia in a prisoner swap on Thursday, when they arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
The White House said Biden will be joined by Vice President Harris at Andrews when Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza arrive.
The family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was released in a prisoner swap between several countries and Russia, broke their silence since his release, saying they cannot wait “to give him the biggest hug.”
"We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release, and it’s hard to describe what today feels like,” the family said. “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.
“We are grateful to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Chancellor Scholz and every U.S. or foreign government official who helped get Evan released,” the family continued. “Our family has felt so much love and support from Evan’s fellow journalists, his wonderful friends, and many, many people around the world. It made a difference to Evan and to us. And we especially thank Evan’s colleagues at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. They have taken care of Evan and our entire family since the beginning, and we are forever grateful."
Gershkovich, American veteran Paul Whelan and others were released into U.S. custody after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States and Russia on Thursday.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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.
{{#rendered}}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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the prisoners who were released by the U.S. in a swap with Russia on Thursday, in Moscow.
The released prisoners were Vadim Krasikov from Germany; Artem Viktorovich Dultsev from Slovenia; Anna Valerevna Dultseva from Slovenia; Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin from Norway; Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov from Poland; Roman Seleznev from the U.S.; Vladislav Klyushin from the U.S.; and Vadim Konoshchenock from the U.S.
In exchange, the U.S. was handed Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza.
{{#rendered}}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.
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.
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.
{{#rendered}}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.
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.
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.
{{#rendered}}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.
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.
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