A large-scale prisoner swap between Russia and the United States is expected to take place on Thursday
Wrongfully imprisoned reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and others will be released by Russian authorities in a prisoner swap with President Joe Biden’s administration.
According to multiple news outlets, the large-scale swap will take place on Thursday, though details remain sparse.
Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained by Russian authorities while on assignment in Yekaterinburg last year. Gershkovich has been held in the notorious Lefortovo prison since March 2023 on trumped-up charges of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison earlier this month.
Whelan was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020 on charges of espionage. Wheelan’s detention regained international attention after the Biden administration secured the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner in December after she was arrested on drug charges in 2022. Russian authorities had rebuffed efforts to secure Wheelan’s release in the prisoner swap that returned Griner to the United States.
It is not yet clear who else was released in the prisoner swap, and who the U.S. returned to Russian custody in exchange.
The Biden administration had previously hinted at concerns that negotiations to secure their citizens’ return would collapse as the 2024 election loomed over talks with Russian authorities.
In May, former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Gershkovich “will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office. He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else.”
Apparently not.