August 1: Russia prisoner exchange news

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Updated 7:22 AM EDT, Fri August 2, 2024
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See the moment freed Americans reunite with loved ones
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3 Americans have returned home as part of a historic prisoner swap. Here's what to know

About 20 minutes before midnight on Thursday, a plane carrying three Americans released from Russian detention touched down on US soil, in a historic and emotional moment following a years-long, multi-country effort involving secret meetings and complex negotiations.

Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich,?former US Marine?Paul Whelan?and Russian-American journalist?Alsu Kurmasheva?were greeted with tears and hugs from their joyous families at?Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also on the tarmac to welcome them.

Their return follows the?biggest prisoner exchange?between Russia and the West?since the Cold War, with the Biden administration hailing the importance of building alliances and diplomacy to secure the deal.

Here’s what you should know about the exchange:

  • Historic prisoner swap:?The three were among two dozen detainees released on Thursday. Eight people were handed back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 others who were held in Russian detention. Among those freed was prominent Putin critic?Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident.
  • Relief, joy and a salute:?Whelan, who was first to exit the plane, gave a salute before shaking hands with Biden and Harris, followed by Gershkovich, who embraced both leaders before hugging his ecstatic parents. Kurmasheva rushed into the arms of her husband and daughters. Biden removed his lapel pin and placed it on Whelan’s shirt.
  • The three Americans: Whelan, 54, had spent almost six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges that he and the US government deny.?Gershkovich, 32, had been detained for over a year and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage last month after a trial that the US government, WSJ and his supporters denounced as a sham. Kurmasheva, 47, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army.
  • Biden hails alliances: Speaking to reporters on the tarmac, Biden pointed to his relationships with heads of state, which aided the complex swap negotiations, and heralded his own efforts to rebuild alliances. Harris tied the deal and related diplomatic efforts of the Biden administration to November’s election, telling reporters that the moment is a reminder of what is at stake.?
  • Complex negotiations: Thursday’s prisoner exchange came after years of quiet and complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington, which included US diplomats scouring the globe for offers to entice Russia to release the Americans. At least seven countries were involved including the US, Russia, Belarus, and Germany. Ultimately, Berlin agreed to Moscow’s key demand – releasing convicted?Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov.
  • Prisoners released: The 24 people swapped in the deal include a host of Russian opposition figures released by Russia while, in return, Moscow got a former FSB colonel convicted of murder and several individuals accused of spying or cybercrime. Top of Moscow’s list was Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in a German prison for the 2019 murder of former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.

Putin got what he wanted, analyst says

The world has just witnessed the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations ultimately led to a prisoner swap that met Moscow’s key demand: releasing convicted?Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov and other criminals.

Tom Nichols, a staff writer at The Atlantic and a retired professor at the U.S. Naval War College, argues that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to send a message to those?doing his bidding around the?world: that he would rescue them if caught, and that they are valuable to him.

Putin’s government takes “human beings?and puts them on a scale?like slabs of meat, until they?get the kind of the deal they?want,” he told CNN’s Laura Coates.

Nichols said the Kremlin sent a stark warning to Westerners that those who step foot in Russia may become the next bargaining chip for another deal.

The swap, Nichols said, showed the value of America’s diplomatic alliances in tough situations.

Tom Nichols, a staff writer at The Atlantic and a retired professor at the U.S. Naval War College.

In pictures: Joy and tears as three freed Americans return home

Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich,?former US Marine?Paul Whelan?and Russian-American journalist?Alsu Kurmasheva?have landed in the United States, following a historic?prisoner exchange?between Russia and the West.

The?returnees?were greeted with tears and embraces by their joyous families at?Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also on the tarmac to welcome them after their plane touched down about 20 minutes before midnight on Thursday.

A plane carrying reporter Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan arrives in the US following their release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States on August 1.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet Paul Whelan at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.
Reporter Evan Gershkovich hugs his mother Ella Milman at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.
President Joe Biden hugs Alsu Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews following her release on Thursday.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet Paul Whelan Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.
Reporter Evan Gershkovich receives an embrace following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States on Thursday.

The painstaking negotiations that secured the historic prisoner swap

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Vadim Krasikov upon arrival following his release, at Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow, Russia, on August 1.

In late June, CIA officials held a secret meeting with Russian intelligence officers in an undisclosed Middle Eastern capital city to present a proposal for a possible prisoner swap. It was the latest in a series of offers US officials had made to Russia in a yearslong effort to secure the release of Americans imprisoned in Russia.

But this time, the CIA had something new to offer: Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin who’d been convicted of executing a man in broad daylight in Berlin and was serving a life sentence in a German prison.

The proposal the CIA offered to the Russians that day was the culmination of months of work by US officials to convince the Germans to release Krasikov, who’s seen as having close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The expansive deal presented that day included trading the Russian assassin for two high-profile Americans jailed in Russia on baseless charges of espionage: former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The Russian officials took the proposal back to Moscow. In early July, in a phone call with CIA Director Bill Burns, the Russian?side indicated to?the Americans that they agreed to the deal in principle, but the specifics still needed to be hammered out.?Then on July 17,?Moscow accepted the terms?by transmitting their answer to the CIA,?setting the stage for the largest prisoner exchange between the US and Russia since the Cold War, one that involved 24 prisoners and seven countries.

It was a remarkably swift conclusion to years of painstaking negotiations between the US and more than half a dozen countries.

Read CNN’s full timeline of the negotiations.

Harris ties prisoner swap and Biden's diplomatic efforts to 2024 election

Kamala Harris speaks with reporters shortly after freed Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva arrived on US soil.

On the tarmac after welcoming three freed Americans after Thursday’s historic prisoner swap, Vice President Kamala Harris tied the deal and related diplomatic efforts of the Biden administration to November’s election, telling reporters that the moment is a reminder of what is at stake.?

Shortly after freed Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva arrived on US soil, Harris said it was a “very good night” and a “testament to the work that we prioritize under Joe Biden’s leadership in our administration, which is the importance of building alliances, building the strength that we have through diplomacy to have outcomes like this.”

The presumptive Democratic nominee did not name former President Donald Trump, but alluded to his “America first” policies and isolationist rhetoric, seeking to draw a contrast with her political rival.?

Biden stresses importance of relationships with heads of state in securing the release

“Yes,” was the answer President Joe Biden gave CNN’s MJ Lee when asked if he thought this moment would come.

In the moments after three freed Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva arrived on US soil, Biden pointed to his relationships with heads of state that led to the complex negotiations to bring the wrongfully detained Americans home.?

On relationships: Biden heralded his own efforts to rebuild alliances, a hallmark of his one-term presidency.

On families: The president told reporters he felt a “sense of relief for the families” and told the released Americans, “Welcome home,” as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews.?

On Putin: Asked what his message was to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden offered one word:

On the safety of journalists: Pressed by Lee on whether reporters should feel afraid reporting abroad, Biden said: “It matters to be aware of what you’re going into and not to take undue chances – because I’m going to come get you.”?

Asked where it would rank among his achievements as president, he said:

Tears, hugs and a salute: Joyous scenes as tearful families reunite with freed Americans

Elizabeth Whelan, right, hugs her brother Paul Whelan after he landed in the US on Thursday.

Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich,?former US Marine?Paul Whelan?and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva have landed in the United States, following the?biggest prisoner exchange?between Russia and the West?since the Cold War.

The returnees were greeted with tears and embraces from their joyous families at?Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also on the tarmac to welcome them after their plane touched down about 20 minutes before midnight on Thursday.

The relief and joy on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews were palpable.

Whelan, who was first to exit the plane, gave a salute before shaking hands with the US leaders, followed by Gershkovich, who embraced both Harris and Biden before hugging his ecstatic parents. Kurmasheva rushed into the arms of her husband and daughters after greeting Harris and Biden.

Gershkovich quickly addressed the media gathered at the tarmac, telling his Wall Street Journal colleagues the words they had been waiting more than a year to hear: “I’m home.”

Kurmasheva ran towards her two daughters and husband in a much-awaited, emotional family reunion.

Biden observed the emotional family reunions, then removed his pin and placed it on Whelan’s lapel as Harris looked on.

Read the full story.

“Hey boss!”: Gershkovich greets WSJ colleagues

Reporter Evan Gershkovich greets colleagues at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.

“Hey boss!” said Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich?when greeting?the paper’s world coverage chief after returning to the US, according to a Wall Street Journal reporter in the scrum.?

He also thanked editor-in-chief Emma Tucker for her efforts to get him out.

Biden celebrates prisoner deal and importance of allies in key moment for his legacy

President Joe Biden speaks after greeting reporter Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.

Thursday’s massive?multi-country prisoner swap?with Russia – touted by the US as the largest since the end of the Cold War – marked a major diplomatic achievement and legacy-defining moment for?President Joe Biden?less than six months before he leaves office.

The prisoner exchange, which included Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan?Gershkovich?and former US Marine?Paul Whelan, was Biden’s first major foreign policy action since announcing last month he was ending?his reelection bid and endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris. The agreement involved months of complex negotiations with allies and adversaries alike, involving seven countries and 24 prisoners.

Biden and Harris greeted Whelan, Gershkovich and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday night after the freed Americans had touched down on US soil. Their families were also waiting on the tarmac to receive them.

Read the full story.

Biden said release was "long time coming" and relied on alliances

President Joe Biden looks on as Alsu Kurmasheva hugs a family member on the tarmac after arriving at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.

President Joe Biden observed the joyous family reunions of the three released Americans, and then removed his pin and placed it on Whelan’s lapel as VP Kamala Harris watched on.?

He said the “toughest call” was not for the US but its allies:

Biden said the release together was due to “trust” and “relationships.”

Gershkovich?tells WSJ colleagues: “I’m home”

US journalist Evan Gershkovich followed by his mother Ella Milman, smiles as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1.

“I’m home,” Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich?told his colleagues after stepping off the plane at Joint Base Andrews.

About a dozen Wall Street Journal employees gathered on the tarmac in solidarity with their returning colleague.

After disembarking, Gershkovich first shook hands with President Joe Biden before enjoying a joyous reunion with his family, hugging his mom and dad.

"It's an incredible day," Vice President Kamala Harris says

Vice President Kamala Harris watches as Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan reunite with family members at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.

Speaking on the tarmac after the three released Americans landed back on US soil, Vice President Kamala Harris said it was “an incredible day.”

“This is just an extraordinary?testament to the importance of?having a president who will?understand the power of?diplomacy, and understands the?strength that rests in?understanding the significance of diplomacy and?strengthening alliances.”

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva greets husband and daughters after landing

President Joe Biden greets Alsu Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday.

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva has also stepped off the plane.

She met with President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris before running to her husband and daughters and embracing them in an emotional reunion.

Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich?greets Biden on the tarmac

Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich stepped off the plane to huge cheers from his colleagues, marking the end to his ordeal that included 491 days in Russian detention.

Gershkovich shook hands with President Joe Biden before enjoying a joyous reunion with his family, hugging his mom and dad.

Released American Paul Whelan is first off the plane

Former US Marine Paul Whelan was the first off the plane. He clapped and saluted before shaking hands with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Whelan was greeted by his sister, Elizabeth Whelan, on the tarmac in an emotional reunion.

Historic moment as families await first glimpse of released Americans

It’s approaching midnight in Maryland, where the plane carrying former US Marine?Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich?and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva hav landed at Joint Base Andrews.

The plane taxied along the runway before coming to a stop and those on the tarmac are waiting for the doors to open before the released Americans can greet their families on US soil.

BREAKING: Plane carrying 3 Americans freed in historic prisoner swap lands on US soil

Three Americans are back on US soil following their release from Russian detention in a historic prisoner exchange with Moscow.?

Former US Marine?Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich?and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva?have landed at Joint Base Andrews, where their families, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, are waiting to greet them.

The three Americans will have the opportunity to spend time with their families and then will board a flight with them to San Antonio. There, they will be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo medical evaluation and care, a US official told CNN.

Biden and Harris arrive at Joint Base Andrews, where Gershkovich's WSJ colleagues are gathered

President Joe Biden’s motorcade has arrived at Joint Base Andrews ahead of the arrival of the returning freed Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who traveled separately, also arrived by motorcade late Thursday.

About a dozen Wall Street Journal employees have gathered on the tarmac in solidarity with their returning colleague.

Biden is en route to Joint Base Andrews to greet freed Americans

President Joe Biden is en route via motorcade to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland where he is expected to greet returning freed Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva.

Traveling with the president is National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who called families of the released on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, inviting them to come to the White House.

A US official told CNN that they expect to see the same group that was in the Oval Office to hear the news of their release directly from Biden.?

Plane carrying Americans freed in Russian prisoner exchange enters US airspace

A Russian Plane, believed to be carrying released Russian prisoners, leaves the Ankara Airport, Turkey, on August 1.

The plane carrying Americans freed during a prisoner swap with Russia has entered United States airspace, according to FlightRadar24 data.?

It crossed into US airspace offshore near Nantucket, Massachusetts.?

The plane took off from Ankara, Turkey around 8:00 p.m. local time?(1700 UTC) and has been in the air for over 9 hours.?

The freed Americans on the flight have been flying for over 12 hours today:?over nine hours on this flight, in addition to the nearly four-hour flight from Moscow to Ankara.

The plane is expected to land at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after 11:30 p.m. local time.?

CNN had confirmed this was the aircraft carrying the Americans because Evan Gershkovich was seen boarding it in Ankara, Turkey.?

Family will greet released Americans on the tarmac

Family members of released Americans Paul Whelan, Evan?Gershkovich and?Alsu?Kurmasheva will be on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews to greet their loved ones when they land.

A US official told CNN that they expect to see the same group that was in the Oval Office earlier on Thursday to hear the news of their release directly from President Joe Biden.?

Here’s who is expected to be on the tarmac:

  • Elizabeth Whelan (Paul Whelan’s sister)
  • Mikhail Gershkovich (Evan Gershkovich’s father)
  • Ella Milman (Evan Gershkovich’s mother)
  • Danielle Gershkovich (Evan Gershkovich’s sister)
  • Anthony Huczek (Evan Gershkovich’s brother-in-law)
  • Pavel Butorin (Alsu Kurmasheva’s husband)
  • Bibi and Miriam Butorin (Alsu Kurmasheva’s daughters)

Family of American still detained in Russia says they feel "stabbed in the back" after prisoner swap

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The sister of American citizen Marc Fogel — who was sentenced to 14 years at a hard labor camp in Russia on drug charges — said she was hoping her brother would be involved in Thursday’s prisoner swap.

But when her brother called her yesterday and said he was still in the Russian city Rybinsk, she realized that “things were not going well” in terms of getting him back home to America.

“It’s been a rollercoaster, no sleep,” she said. “I feel like we’ve been kind of collectively stabbed in the back.”

Fogel was not included in the prisoner swap that freed 24 detainees on Thursday, including American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan. A senior administration official said the Biden administration had sought the release of Fogel, but was unsuccessful.?

“We absolutely wanted Marc to be included, but it just wasn’t going to happen,” the official said, insisting that the administration would only “keep redoubling our efforts” to see Fogel and others released.

Fogel, who worked in Moscow as a teacher, was arrested on drug charges in 2021 after entering the country with cannabis.?His family and lawyer have said he was carrying it for medical purposes that had been recommended by a doctor to treat “severe spinal pain.”

Plane carrying Americans freed in Russian prisoner exchange enters Canadian airspace

The plane bringing the freed Americans back to the United States has entered Canadian airspace, according to FlightRadar24 data.?

The plane is expected to land at Joint Base Andrews after 11:00?p.m .ET.?

CNN confirmed this was the aircraft carrying the Americans because Evan Gershkovich was seen boarding it in Ankara, Turkey.??

US special envoy spoke with Paul Whelan days?before his release, source says

Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens spoke with former US Marine?Paul Whelan by phone on Friday, a source familiar said. Whelan was at his remote prison camp in Mordovia at the time of the call.

Carstens was not able to tell him any details about the imminent swap, but was able to get a sense of how Whelan was feeling, which was optimistic, the source said.

Biden knew prisoner release deal was imminent when he announced he was exiting presidential race

President Joe Biden pauses before he addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington,DC, on Wednesday, July 24, about his decision to drop his Democratic presidential reelection bid.

When US President Joe Biden sat behind the Resolute Desk to address the nation on his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race and end his career in public service, he knew a deal to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva was imminent.

From the Oval Office on July 24, Biden told the American people his administration in its final months would be “working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.”

A call between Biden and the prime minister of Slovenia three days earlier to discuss the status of a Russian prisoner in that country’s custody represented the last leader-level call and “final puzzle piece,” in the words of one senior official, before the discussions turned to the logistics of choreographing the arrival of a handful of planes from seven countries on a tarmac in Ankara, Turkey.?Months of painstaking negotiations involving multiple countries, dozens of high-value individuals, and more than a few false starts, were nearing a conclusion.?

As Biden negotiated for American citizens to begin a new chapter of their lives, he was also concurrently negotiating an end to the chapter that had dominated his: Fifty-four years in public service that, he would soon announce, would end in January. The intersection of those moments, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan, was merely a coincidence.?

“The different elements coming together was a feature of the diplomacy and the decision-making of each of the countries involved,” Sullivan said. “It wasn’t about American politics, the American political calendar, the president’s thinking on other issues.”?

Sullivan argued the president wanted the deal quickly, but not for his own sake.??

“He was thinking about it from the families’ perspective, which is: Every day is a lost day,” Sullivan said.?

Brittney Griner says she was "head-over-heels happy" for released Americans

Brittney Griner, center, shoots as Belgium's Elisa Ramette and Belgium's Emma Meesseman defend during a women's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, August 1, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France.

Following the historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West, WNBA great and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner told the Associated Press that she was “head-over-heels happy for the families right now.”

“I know they have an amazing group of people that are going to help them out — them and their families,” she continued. Griner is in Paris playing for Team USA’s women’s basketball team at the Summer Olympics.

Remember: Griner spent almost 300 days in custody in Russia having been detained in February 2022 and sentenced to nine years in prison after authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage.?

The US State Department deemed Griner had been wrongfully detained. She was released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

US-Russia relations remain "in a very difficult place" following prisoner swap, top US official says

Principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer appears on CNN on Thursday, August 1.

The US-Russia relationship, a top US national security official said, remains “in a very difficult place” after a historic prisoner swap Tuesday that included three American citizens and one permanent resident.?

“There was no trust involved in this relationship or this negotiation. Everything had to be verified multiple times,” Finer added.?

Pressed on whether the move incentivized Russia and other hostile states to wrongfully detain Americans in the future, Finer said the US will “not apologize” for its efforts to bring Americans home.?

He pointed to travel warnings, the tool of sanctions for countries that wrongfully detain Americans, and diplomacy, reiterating that it is “fundamentally dangerous for Americans to be present in Russia.”

Finer said the freed Americans “seemed in good spirits,” adding that he didn’t have additional information to share about their conditions.

Finer also addressed Marc Fogel, who is detained in Russia and was not part of the deal. He agreed with a statement from Fogel’s family that it is a “complete injustice” that Fogel remains held and said the administration will “continue to work toward Marc’s release and toward the release of other Americans who are held captive in various countries around the world.”

What comes next for the freed Americans after they land back in the US

Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva — the three American citizens who are on their way home to the United States after being released as part of a historic prisoner swap — are currently joined on the plane by multiple medics, a psychologist and US government officials including representatives from the National Security Council and State Department, a US official told CNN.?

Once they land at Joint Base Andrews, they will be greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The three Americans will also have the opportunity to spend time with their families.?

Afterward, all three and their family members will board a flight to San Antonio. There, they will be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo medical evaluation and will recieve whatever care they need for as long as they need, the US official said.??

This is typical protocol for wrongfully detained Americans who return home. WNBA player Brittney Griner also went to BAMC right after she was released from Russian detention in December of 2022.??

They will also have the option to participate in a Defense Department program called PISA (Post Isolation Support Activities), which is meant to help them readjust now that they are back in the United States. Many recently freed US wrongful detainees have undergone this program to help them acclimate back to normal life. The length of that program varies but its maximum is 19 days.

Some planes involved in Russian prisoner swap land in Germany, Poland and Norway

Some planes involved in the Russian prisoner swap have landed in Germany, Poland and Norway.

Two planes landed in Cologne, Germany, one landed at Poland’s Chopin Airport in Warsaw, and one landed at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport, according to FlightRadar 24 data.?

Earlier on Thursday, one plane flew from Baden-Baden Karlsruhe Airport in southern Germany to Ankara, Turkey.?Another plane left Dulles International Airport, outside of Washington, DC, late Wednesday night for Ankara, Turkey.?

The plane in Germany: Former high-ranking Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel Vadim Krasikov, was in German custody. He shot and killed former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten “execution style,” in broad daylight.?

Five German citizens were released as part of the prisoner swap.

The plane in Poland: Pavel Rubtsov, a Russian spy in Polish custody, was also part of the prisoner exchange. Rubtsov was a Russian spy living in Poland and was arrested in February 2022 according to Polish state news agency PAP.?He was living under the false pretence of being a Spanish journalist called Pablo Gonzales.

The plane in Norway: Mikhail Mikushin, who was in Norwegian custody, was arrested in the country in 2022 and was working at the University of Troms? in the Arctic Circle, pretending to be a Brazilian researcher.

Six of the seven planes involved in the prisoner swap have now landed, with the remaining plane en route to Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, DC.

This post has been updated with additional information.

Gershkovich's family expresses relief after his release: "We can't wait to give him the biggest hug"

The family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich expressed relief and gratitude to the Biden administration after he was released Thursday in a historic US-Russia prisoner swap.?

Putin greets Russians returned to Moscow after prisoner swap

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets released Russian prisoners and relatives at the Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, August 1.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted the Russians involved in a prisoner swap upon their return to Moscow in the late hours of Thursday, according to the Kremlin.

Putin said the returnees will be presented with state awards and he thanked them for their loyalty to their home country.

Putin promised to meet again with the eight returnees and talk about their future.

Biden spoke individually with leaders of Turkey, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and Germany

President Joe Biden spoke individually with the leaders of Turkey, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and Germany on Thursday to “thank them for their partnership” in the historic prisoner swap with Russia, according to the White House.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were among the two dozen detainees included in the deal.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier that the president would be making these calls to those involved in the prison swap and commended the president for his “intricate statecraft.”

1 of the planes involved in the prisoner swap lands in Slovenia

A plane involved in the prisoner swap has landed at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Jo?e Pu?nik Airport, according to FlightRadar 24 data.?

Earlier on Thursday, the same plane ferried prisoners to the Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey.?

Two Russians spies – Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva — were in Slovenian custody and were part of the prisoner swap.

Dultsev was posing as an IT professional named Ludvig Gish, and pled guilty to espionage at a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and was sentenced to more than a year and half in prison, which the court said was equivalent to time spent.?He was set to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Slovenia for five years.

Dultseva pled guilty to espionage alongside Dultsev.?She posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and is thought to be married to Dultsev. She went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. Like Dultsev, she was sentenced to time served and deportation.

Biden and Harris will greet freed Americans at Joint Base Andrews Thursday night

President Joe Biden is expected to greet the freed Americans at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday evening, according to updated guidance from the White House.?

Biden is expected to be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The president and the vice president are expected to be at the base at around 11:30 p.m. ET, the White House guidance said.

In pictures: The Wall Street Journal's newsroom celebrates Gershkovich's release

Here’s a look at the moment news that Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich was released from Russia broke in the Journal’s New York newsroom.

The Wall Street Journal’s editor-in-chief Emma Tucker reacts to the news of Evan Gershkovich’s release. The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was released into U.S. custody after a prisoner swap with Russia on Thursday, August 1.
The Wall Street Journal editors and reporters listen to Emma Tucker announce Evan Gershkovich’s release.
The Wall Street Journal’s Emma Tucker reacts to the news of Evan Gershkovich’s release.
Emma Tucker celebrates the successful prisoner exchange in Turkey between the United States and Russia.
The Wall Street Journal’s Emma Tucker reacts to the news of Evan Gershkovich’s release.

US-registered planes involved in prisoner swap heading to Slovenia, Germany, Norway, Poland and US

The six US-registered planes involved in?the?prisoner swap in Ankara are heading to Slovenia, Germany,?Norway, Poland and the United States, according to flight plans reviewed?by CNN.

Two planes are en route to Cologne, Germany, and are set to arrive around 10 p.m. local time. One plane is heading to Oslo, Norway, and is expected to arrive?around 11 p.m. local time.?

Another plane is flying towards Ljubljana, Slovenia, and is expected to arrive around 11 p.m. local time. And one plane?is traveling to Warsaw, Poland, where it will land?around 10 p.m. local time.

The?sixth?plane is en route to Joint Base Andrews,?outside of Washington, DC, and is expected to land around 11:30 p.m. local time.

Putin receives Russian citizens as they deplane?

Russian president Vladimir Putin received the Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap as they disembarked a plane upon arrival in Moscow from Ankara, Turkey.

Plane carrying Russians released in prisoner swap arrives in Moscow, according to state news agency

Russian president Vladimir Putin receives the Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap as they disembarked the plane upon arrival in Moscow from Ankara on Thursday, August 1.

The plane carrying Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap on Thursday has arrived in Moscow from Ankara, according to state news agency Ria Novosti.

According to state news agency TASS a red carpet was rolled out for the arrival.

Before his release, Gershkovich asked if Putin would one day sit down for an interview, WSJ reports

Video released by the Russian Security Service (FSB) shows Evan Gershkovich and Rico Krieger on board of the plane on their way to Turkey.

Just two weeks ago, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison. Today, he is flying home a free man.

In a lengthy piece published after Gershkovich and two other Americans were released, the Journal reported on the global efforts to strike the prisoner swap deal.

Have a read of the last two paragraphs, detailing some of Gershkovich’s final acts in a Russian cell:

All 7 aircraft involved in prisoner swap are airborne, flight tracking data shows

All seven aircraft that were involved in the prisoner swap between Russia and the West in Turkey’s Ankara on Thursday are now airborne, according to flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange.

Six of the flights that landed at Ankara are US-registered planes and the seventh is a Russian flight.?

The Russian flight is already back in Russian airspace and is expected to land around 9:45 p.m. local time.

The destination of the six US-registered planes is currently unknown, but the tracking data shows they are heading northeast and flying across Europe.

Yulia Navalnaya and Navalny's team commend prisoner exchange with Russia

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, and his team commended the prisoner exchange with Russia.

Navalnaya applauded the “very long and difficult work” it took to make a deal and noted that “we still have a lot of people to fight for.”

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s former press secretary, said US Vice President Kamala Harris had called Navalnaya to discuss the exchange and express her support. Navalnaya thanked Harris for the assistance of the US in organizing the exchange, Yarmysh said.

Navalny’s team?wrote?on Telegram that some of the released prisoners had been detained due to “their resistance and to intimidate others, while others were taken hostage just to replenish the exchange fund.”

The team added that Navalny was supposed to be included in the exchange “but Putin killed him.” Navalny died in an Arctic prison in February. The Kremlin denied any involvement in his death.

In a briefing Thursday, US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that the deal was supposed to include Navalny before his death.

NATO and EU welcome release of prisoners from Russian captivity

NATO and the European Union welcomed the release of prisoners from Russian captivity, including US nationals Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.

European Council chief Charles Michel heralded the release of the 16 individuals “unjustly jailed by the Russian regime,” responding to the news on his official X account.?

Michel thanked those in Europe who “helped to make the diplomatic deal possible,” outlining the EU’s commitment to continue “supporting and standing for all those illegally detained in Russia and elsewhere.”?

A NATO spokesperson also commended the efforts of several NATO allies who helped to broker “the deal that secured their freedom.”?

This photo of Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan was taken just after their release

A photo released by the US government today shows Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and former US Marine Paul Whelan posing behind an American flag in Turkey shortly after they were released as part of the historic prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other nations.

The trio, along with other recently freed Americans, are now headed back to the United States.

Check out the image:

National security adviser describes Marc Fogel as "wrongfully detained" for the first time publicly

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at  the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday, August 1.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday described Marc Fogel,?an American sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in Russia, as “wrongfully detained.” This is the first time a United States official has categorized him as such.

Fogel was not included in the prisoner swap that freed 24 detainees on Thursday, including American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

The State Department has not publicly designated Fogel as wrongfully detained but has called for his release.

Some background: Fogel, who worked in Moscow as a teacher, was arrested on drug charges in 2021 and given a 14-year prison sentence in 2022 after entering the country with cannabis.?His family and lawyer have said he was carrying it for medical purposes that had been recommended by a doctor to treat “severe spinal pain.”

Fogel’s family?had been urging the Biden administration?to designate him as wrongfully detained, which would trigger formal diplomatic efforts to secure his release.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood contributed reporting to this post.

Photo shows newly freed Americans on plane back to US

US President Joe Biden shared a photo on social media of the newly freed Americans on a plane and said they have “begun their journeys back into the arms of their families.”

“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,” Biden wrote on X.

The released Americans are headed to the United States and the historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West is complete, a Turkish security source previously told CNN.

Russia's federal security service thanks "foreign partners" for prisoner swap

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) thanked “competent government agencies” and “foreign partners” for Thursday’s prisoner swap with the west, according to state news agency TASS

Eight Russian citizens are being returned to Russia as part of the deal, the news agency said.

“Russian citizens were exchanged for a group of individuals who acted in the interests of foreign states to the detriment of the security of the Russian Federation,” the statement read, according to TASS.

White House national security adviser fights back tears as he reflects on efforts to secure prisoner release

Jake Sullivan reacts while addressing the press during a briefing at the White House on Thursday.

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan fought back tears as he reflected on the long road that led to the Thursday release of three Americans and one American green-card holder.

“Excuse me—today was a very good day, and we’re going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from it for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world.”

Sullivan thanked colleagues across the national security apparatus, calling the prisoner swap “the culmination of a monumental level of effort and level of skill by my teammates across the national security enterprise.”?

“These are dedicated, talented professionals who are not in the headlines, who don’t get to stand at a podium like this one, and it was at the president’s direction that they built and pulled off the most intricate, expansive deal of its kind in memory,” Sullivan told reporters.

He said “every American should be proud to have those kind of people standing up on their behalf and on behalf of American security.”?

Sullivan was asked if he had become emotional when he learned that the detained Americans had safely made it out of Russia.

Families were overjoyed when told their loved ones were coming home, White House adviser says

The mood in the Oval Office was “overjoyed” as US President Joe Biden told the families of three American citizens and one American green card holder that their loved ones would “finally be coming home,” a top White House national security adviser told reporters.

“I have the honor and pleasure of joining the president this morning in the Oval Office as he shared the wonderful news with families,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters from the White House briefing room Thursday.?

He said the group “spoke with Paul, Evan, Alsu and Vladimir, who were on the tarmac in Ankara with US officials where the exchange happened.”?

Sullivan heavily credited Biden personally for the achievement, saying, “Today’s exchange is a feat of diplomacy that honestly could only be achieved by a leader like Joe Biden.”

Russian flight carrying exchanged detainees expected to land at Moscow airport

The Russian special squadron plane, carrying Russian citizens swapped in a prisoner exchange in Ankara, Turkey, is expected to land at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport?later this evening.

FlightRadar24 confirmed to CNN that the plane has filed a flight plan that terminates at the airport in southwestern Moscow.?It’s expected to land there around 9:45 p.m. local time.

Biden is reaching out to thank world leaders Thursday afternoon, national security adviser says

US President Joe Biden is reaching out to world leaders on Thursday afternoon to “give personal thanks” to the nations involved in the historic prison swap that released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

“While I’m standing at this podium, the president is reaching out to give personal thanks to the leaders of Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during Thursday’s press briefing.?

Turkey said it played a mediator role in the swap, which involved 24 detainees and seven countries. A host of Russian dissidents were also freed while in return Moscow got a convicted Russian assassin jailed in Germany.

Sullivan also praised the “intricate statecraft” and the president’s involvement in the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Biden posts photo of Oval Office call with families of detained Americans

US President Joe Biden shared a photo Thursday featuring the families of detained Americans who were released as part of a prisoner swap on Thursday.

The photo included the families of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza during an Oval Office call with their newly released family members.

"Navalny exchange" took place without him, says aide of late Russian opposition leader

People lay flowers at the grave of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny at the Borisov Cemetery in Moscow, on March 2.

An ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has praised Thursday’s prisoner exchange but lamented that it could not include Navalny, who died in February.

“But Putin decided to ‘flip the board over,’ decided that he would never let Navalny go. And he killed him literally a couple of days before the exchange could take place,” Volkov said.

Navalny died in an Arctic prison, where he was serving a more than 20-year sentence on charges he dismissed as politically motivated. The Russian prison service said Navalny had “felt unwell after a walk” and died suddenly. The Kremlin denied involvement.

After his death, it was reported that negotiations to release Navalny had entered their “final stage,” and that he was “days away” from being freed.

Volkov – who was attacked with a hammer in Lithuania in the weeks after Navalny’s death, in an incident the country’s intelligence agency blamed on Russia – said Thursday’s prisoner exchange would be bittersweet.

“Today we rejoice at the release of the political prisoners, Putin’s hostages, who suffered in Putin’s gulag,” he said. “But it will still be joy with tears in our eyes.”

In a briefing Thursday afternoon, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that the deal was intended to include Navalny.

This post has been updated with additional comments from the White House.

Six of the seven planes involved in the Russia prisoner swap were from the US

A Russian government plane and other jets are seen on the tarmac at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday, August 1.

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 and ADS-B Exchange are helping show exactly where the flights involved in Thursday’s?prisoner exchange between Russia and the West originated.?

The data shows that seven flights landed at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport between 3:50 p.m. local time and 4:45 p.m. local time.??

Six of the flights that landed at Ankara were US-registered?planes and the seventh was the Russian flight.?

About the flights:

  • Two flights from the United States took off early Thursday morning at 12:05 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. ET from Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, DC, and flew non-stop, overnight to Ankara.??
  • A flight from Norway took off from the Oslo airport just after 11:34 a.m. local time and landed in Ankara just before 4 p.m. local time there.?It traveled to Oslo from Dulles on Tuesday, taking off at?8:36 p.m. ET.
  • A flight from Slovenia took off from Ljubljana Jo?e Pu?nik Airport just after 1 p.m. local time and landed at Ankara just after 4 p.m. local time there.?It traveled to Slovenia from Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday, taking off at 8:58 p.m. ET.
  • A flight from Germany took off from Karlsruhe /?Baden-Baden Airport at 12:45 p.m. local time and landed at Ankara just after 4 p.m. local time there.?It traveled to Germany from New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport on?Tuesday, taking off at 5:03 p.m. ET.
  • A flight from Poland took off from Warsaw’s Chopin Airport at 1:15 p.m. local time and landed at Ankara at 4:15 p.m local time there.?It traveled to Warsaw from Teterboro on Tuesday, taking off at 7:11 p.m. ET.
  • The flight from Russia – from the country’s special flight squadron –?took off from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport just after 11:45 a.m. and landed at Ankara at 4:15 p.m. local time there.??

Flight carrying exchanged detainees returns to Russian airspace

The Russian plane used during the prisoner exchange in Ankara, Turkey, has returned to Russian airspace, flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange shows.

European leaders react to historic prisoner swap

European leaders are reacting to the historic prisoner swap on Thursday that resulted in the release of 24 detainees from Russia.

Here’s what some world leaders said:

  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his thoughts are with the released prisoners and their families, in a post on X. “We will continue to call on Russia to uphold freedom of political expression,” Starmer said.
  • Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said he welcomed the news of the swap, but “the Russian regime continues to persecute many innocent people. Czech diplomacy will continue to fight for justice and freedom for them,” according to a post on X.
  • Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Bra?e said in a post that she was “very glad” that the detainees were released and demanded “all political prisoners to be released from Russia’s and Belarus prisons.”
  • Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called the prisoner swap a “huge step toward justice,” in a post on X. Still, he said it’s not enough: “I urge Russia to release all political prisoners sentenced under sham charges to silence democracy.”
  • Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstr?m praised the “very good news” on X that Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was among those released in the deal, adding that Kara-Murza is “a true champion for democracy and against Putins tyrannic rule,” the post said.?
  • Irish Taoiseach?Simon?Harris praised the release of Paul Whelan, who has Irish citizenship. Harris thanked “Ireland’s diplomatic team in Russia and our consular team in Dublin for their years of tireless work on this?case.”
  • Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X that the “operation was possible thanks to the commitment of our state. I thank the President and the services for their exemplary cooperation.”

Blinken says newly freed Americans "all sounded strong" when he spoke to them?

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with the newly freed Americans and said they “all sounded strong — strong in voice, strong in mind, strong in spirit.”

Blinken spoke to the press while on a refuel stop in Japan as he traveled back to Washington, DC, from Mongolia.

The top US diplomat had spoken several times with Paul Whelan in the past but had not spoken with the other released Americans: Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva.

Blinken, asked whether there was concern about the release of Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin, said these are “always incredibly hard decisions that the President’s demonstrated repeatedly he’s prepared to make.”

Putin signed decrees to pardon those released in prisoner swap, according to Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed decrees to pardon those released in Thursday’s prisoner swap, according to the Kremlin.

The decrees pardoned Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Putin also pardoned German citizens Kevin Lick, Demuri (Dieter) Voronin, Lilia Chanysheva, Vadim Ostanin, Ksenia Fadeeva, Alexandra Skochilenko, Ilya Yashin, Andrei Pivovarov and Oleg Orlov.

The Kremlin thanked Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko for pardoning German citizen Rico Krieger who was previously?sentenced to death?in Belarus and was part of the prisoner swap. The Belarusian presidency announced on Tuesday that Krieger had been pardoned.?

This post has been updated with more details on the decrees Putin signed.

Behind Harris’ two private conversations at Munich conference in February on prisoner swap

US Vice President Kamala Harris and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz walk together during a bilateral meeting at the Munich Security Conference in February.

When Vice President Kamala?Harris?attended the Munich Security Conference in February, the release of the very Americans who are on their way home on Thursday were top of mind.?

As?Harris?was wrapping up a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the conference, the vice president asked all staff to leave the room for what US officials sometimes refer to as a “restricted bilateral meeting.” Just one aide each for the vice president and the chancellor remained.

It was in this private conversation that?Harris?emphasized that the release of convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov who was jailed in Germany would be critical to a deal, a White House official tells CNN.?Harris?pressed Scholz to facilitate Krasikov’s release – US officials have since acknowledged that he was the “biggest fish” that the Russians wanted.?

During that same trip,?Harris?also asked for a meeting with Prime Minster Robert Golob of Slovenia. The main purpose of that meeting, the White House official said, was to press the prime minister on moving forward with the release of two Russian nationals that were in Slovenian custody that the US had identified as being a top priority for the Russians.

The official readout of?Harris-Golob meeting from February made no mention of the two leaders discussing the prisoner swap.?

As CNN previously reported, Biden – as recently as two weekends ago moments before he announced that he would be ending his 2024 campaign, had called the Slovenian prime minister to urge him to get the deal across the finish line.??

Biden says he owes German Chancellor a “great sense of gratitude” for prisoner swap deal

President Joe Biden said he owes “a great sense of gratitude” to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and defended the “tough” decision to swap political prisoners for convicted criminals.

“But everybody stepped up, Poland stepped up, Slovenia stepped up, Turkey stepped up. And it matters to have relationships. It really does.”

When asked by a reporter, Biden said Germany had asked for “nothing” in return for their cooperation.

When asked if he was worried that the prisoner swap could incentivize aggressors to kidnap Americans, Biden said his administration would warn Americans “not to go to certain places, tell them what’s at risk – what’s at stake.”

Asked how he weight the decision to swap convicted criminals with wrongfully detained people, Biden simply said: “I got home innocent people.”

The German government has said it did not take the decision “lightly” to free Vadim Krasikov, a former FSB officer serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a Chechen fighter in broad daylight in a Berlin park in 2019.

Germany "did not take lightly" decision to release convicted murderer Krasikov, spokesperson says

Vadim Krasikov

Germany’s government has explained why it took the?controversial?decision to free Vadim Krasikov, the Russian hitman?jailed for?murder, in Thursday’s prisoner exchange.

Krasikov, a former high-ranking FSB colonel, was convicted of murdering a former Chechen fighter in a Berlin park in 2019, and was later sentenced to life in a German prison.

In a statement Thursday evening, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Germany had weighed its “obligation” to keep its citizens safe against the need to help its allies to free “innocent people” detained in Russia, like Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

In a lengthy piece published after Gershkovich was freed, the WSJ reported that the fate of Krasikov was crucial to the deal, and revealed the painstaking efforts to persuade a skeptical German government to agree to release the KGB hitman.

Eventually, the White House agreed to send a formal request to the German government requesting the release of Krasikov as part of the prisoner exchange, a move that gave the German government diplomatic cover, the Journal reported.

CIA director traveled to Turkey in recent weeks?to discuss?the swap

CIA Director Bill Burns listens during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in March.

CIA Director Bill Burns?traveled to Turkey recently to discuss the swap with United States and Turkish officials, a senior administration official said.

The massive US-Russia prisoner swap was a “logistical miracle” and the Turkish government was “extremely helpful,” the official said.?

As the swap was being carried out, there were multiple planes on the Turkish tarmac as a small number of embassy personnel at the US embassy in Turkey monitored the complicated operation, the official said.?

The most senior US official on the tarmac was an intelligence official, the official said.?

Turkey was picked as a partner in this exchange because they have been involved in a number of negotiations involving Russia, such as the black sea grain initiative, and the prisoner swap that released Brittany Griner, the official said.

The 24 people who were swapped in the historic agreement between Russia and the West

American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were among the 24?detainees released as part of a complex prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other Western nations.

A host of Russian dissidents were also freed while in return Moscow got a former FSB colonel convicted of murder as well as several individuals accused of spying or cybercrime.

Here’s who was part of the prisoner swap:

Americans released from Russia are now wheels up from Turkey and headed to the US, official says

The Americans released in the historic prisoner swap are now in the air and en route to the United States, according to a senior administration official.

Prisoner swap between Russia and the West is complete, Turkish security source says

The historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West is complete, a Turkish security source told CNN.

The planes involved in transferring the freed people are in the process of leaving Turkey’s Ankara airport.

Biden says he doesn't need to speak with Putin

President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that he did not speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of efforts to secure the release of Americans and dissidents held by Russia Thursday.

Pressed on if he plans to speak with the Russian strongman, Biden told reporters in the State Dining Room, “I don’t need to speak with Putin.”?

The last public interaction the two leaders had was in February 2022, just two weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to?a White House readout at the time, Biden “reiterated that a further Russian invasion?of Ukraine?would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing,” at the time.

Since then, Biden has referred to Putin in increasingly disparaging terms. In a June interview with ABC,?the president told David Muir?Putin was “not a decent man — he’s a dictator, and he’s struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping this assault going.”

Biden leads families and press in singing "Happy Birthday" to Alsu Kurmasheva’s daughter

US President Joe Biden embraces Miriam Butorin, the daughter of Aslu Kurmasheva, at the White House on Thursday.

President Joe Biden led the families of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, as well as press gathered in the room, in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Kurmasheva’s almost 13-year-old daughter Miriam Butorin.?

“Tomorrow’s a big day, the 13th?birthday of Miriam,” Biden said. “You all know we have a tradition in the Biden family, we sing?‘happy birthday’?on every birthday. Ready – all of you.”

The president called Butorin over to stand by him and put his arm around her while he led the group in singing to her.?

“Now she gets to celebrate with her mom. That’s what this is all about families?— able to be together again like they should have been all along,” Biden said after singing. Butorin walked back to her family and embraced them after standing next to the president.?

Kurmasheva, a 47-year-old Russian-American journalist, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army. She was sentenced on the same day that a court convicted Gershkovich.

WATCH:

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Updated 7:22 AM EDT, Fri August 2, 2024
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1a11a482-c8e0-43f8-b88b-4cafcdd5a27c.mp4
00:41 - Source: cnn

Biden points to "innocent people" returned to the US when asked to justify releasing Russians

Asked about how he justifies releasing Russian prisoners in exchange for Americans, Biden said all that matters is that he “got home innocent people.”

In exchange for 24 American detainees, a host of Russian dissidents were also freed, including a former FSB colonel convicted of murder as well as several individuals accused of spying or cybercrime.

Biden talked about his own loss of family members and uncertainty in his life, saying, “It matters.”

Biden heralds power of alliances, calling prisoner swap deal a "feat of diplomacy and friendship"

President Joe Biden celebrated the power of alliances in the years long efforts toward Thursday’s historic prisoner swap, cementing a hallmark of his presidency – bolstering US relationships abroad.

He called the deal a “feat of diplomacy and friendship.”

“Multiple countries helped get this done. They joined a difficult, complex negotiation at my request,” Biden said, nodding to his own role in the process.

He said it would “not have been possible” without Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey, who “all stepped up and stood with us” and “made bold and brave decisions for these prisoners.”

“I particularly owe a great sense of gratitude to the (German) chancellor (Olaf Scholz). The demands they were making of me required me to get some significant concessions from Germany which they originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question,” Biden said.

Biden, when asked by a reporter, added that Germany had asked for “nothing” in order to secure their cooperation.

Without naming Donald Trump, Biden offered a message about the importance of US alliances, an implicit criticism of his former political rival’s isolationism.

Biden was also asked to respond to comments from former Trump,?who boasted after the 2022 release of WNBA star Brittany Griner?that he was able to secure the release of hostages, “without paying any money, or giving up anything.”

“Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden retorted.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Biden.

Biden says his administration is advising Americans not to travel to certain countries?

When asked whether prisoner swaps incentivize countries to detain Americans, President Joe Biden said Americans should not travel to these places.

He said his administration is “advising people not to go certain places” and to tell them “what’s at risk, what’s at stake.”

"Why didn't he do it when he was president?" Biden says in response to Trump question

President Joe Biden took a swipe at former President Donald Trump when asked if he had a message for him following the historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West.

“President Trump has said repeatedly that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange. What do you say to that? What do you say to President Trump now?” a reporter asked Biden.

"They can live safely abroad": Biden says about Russian dissident prisoners freed on Thursday

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden said the prisoners that have been released from Russian prisons can now “live safely abroad.”

Biden reasserted that the release of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladmir Kara-Murza would not have been possible without the US’ allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey.

The president said one of the Russian detainees ran a human rights organization called Memorial while another was arrested for voicing opposition to the war in Ukraine. Four others worked with Alexey Navalny, a Russian political opposition leader.

Biden says many cases of detained Americans were "inherited from the prior administration"

President Joe Biden said he began work on trying to release Americans wrongfully detained in Russia before he officially took office.

He said those cases were “inherited from the prior administration.”

“As of today,?my administration’s brought?home over 70 Americans who were?wrongfully detained or held?hostage abroad — many since?before I took office,” Biden said.

Biden says journalists were falsely accused of being spies

President Joe Biden described the journalists who were released from Russia as part of a prisoner swap.

He said they were convicted in “show trials” and given long prison terms “with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever ever, none.”

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who holds an American green card, were among those released.

Kara-Murza won a Pulitzer Prize for writing about Russia as a contributor of The Washington Post.

“All three falsely accused of being spies,” Biden said.

Biden: "This is a very good afternoon"

US President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House surrounded by the family members of US citizens and residents detained in Russia, said it’s a “very good afternoon.”

"Their brutal ordeal is over," Biden says of released Americans?

US President Joe Biden said the American prisoners’ “brutal ordeal is over, and they’re free.”

The president said it was an “incredible relief” for their families.

He said the released Americans were able to speak to their family members over the phone as they traveled to the US.

Wall?Street?Journal?celebrates release of Evan Gershkovich

Champagne bottles popped inside The?Wall?Street?Journal?newsroom on Thursday as staffers celebrated the release of their colleague Evan Gershkovich, who was freed in a historic prisoner exchange?between the US and Russia.

Emma Tucker, The?Journal’s editor-in-chief, delivered the official news of Gershkovich’s freedom to the publication’s New York staff just before noon, after they had confirmed his safety.?

Tucker and Almar Latour, the newspaper’s publisher, said in a joint statement that they are “overwhelmed with relief and elated for Evan and his family, as well as for the others who were released.”

Biden speaks surrounded by family members of US citizens released in prisoner swap

US President Joe Biden, standing alongside family members of the freed prisoners, speaks about the prisoner exchange with Russia, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 1.

US President Joe Biden is speaking at the White House surrounded by family members of US citizens and residents detained in Russia.

NOW: President Biden speaks following US-Russia prisoner exchange

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters from the White House.

President Joe Biden is speaking to reporters from the White House following a historic prisoner exchange with Russia and several other countries that included the release of former US Marine?Paul Whelan?and Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich.

Biden gathered the families of Whelan, Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimor Kara-Murza at the White House on Thursday to relay the news that their loved ones were heading home, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier on Thursday.

We’ll bring you the latest updates on Biden’s remarks as we get them here.

News outlet RFE/RL welcomes news of Russian-American journalist's release

The president of the news organization Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty welcomed the news of the release of one of the outlet’s journalists in a prisoner swap.

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army.

“We welcome news of Alsu’s release and are grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia,” RFE/RL President & CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.

Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, thanked the US government for allowing her to be reunited with her family after being separated for nearly two years.

"This is now Paul’s story to tell," says Whelan's brother

David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, said his “work as our family spokesperson is over” and Paul can now tell his story.

“It is vital that he be given agency over his life again, something the Kremlin took away for so many years,” he added.

He praised the work of journalists for keeping his brother’s story in the public consciousness.

“I cannot adequately express my deep admiration for your hard work and courage.?Some of you were hounded from Russia, or labeled foreign agents, and took great risks to follow Paul’s story,” he said.

“Every story has an ending and this is the end of the story of our family’s advocacy for Paul,” he said.

Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva are on their way back to the US, Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that three Americans are now on their way back to the US after a massive US-Russia prisoner swap.

Blinken thanked five countries for their support in this historic deal.?

“We are grateful for the support we had from a number of our allies who made this deal possible, in particular Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia.?We further appreciate the Turkish government providing a location for the safe return of these individuals to the United States and Germany,” Blinken said.

Blinken said that he has had many “difficult conversations” in recent years when he “told the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia that we would not forget them.”

Blinken also reiterated that pledge to American families whose loved ones are not coming home today: “We will not forget you, and we will not rest until you see your loved ones again,” he said.

Harris celebrates the release of Whelan and Gershkovich ahead of Biden’s remarks

Vice President Kamala Harris praised the multinational prisoner swap with Russia that has resulted in the release of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, saying it gives her “great comfort” to know they’ll soon be reunited with their loved ones.??

Harris is currently in Houston where she will deliver the eulogy at the funeral services for the late congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.?

In addition to Krasikov, here are the other Russian prisoners released

Alongside the most high-profile Russian prisoner to be released, Vadim Krasikov, here are the other Russians who were part of the exchange:

Vadim Konoshchenok, 48:

  • Konoshchenok was facing charges of conspiracy over his role in a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
  • The US Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Konoshchenok is a Russian citizen with alleged ties to the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency. He is accused of being part of a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition to Russia, violating US export controls, economic sanctions and other criminal statutes.

Vladislav Klyushin, 43:

  • A Russian businessman, Klyushin was sentenced in Boston last year to nine years in prison for his role in what the US authorities called “an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million through securities trades based on confidential corporate information stolen from US computer networks.”
  • Klyushin was arrested in Sion, Switzerland, in March 2021 and extradited to the United States in December 2021. On top of his prison sentence, he was also ordered to forfeit more than $34 million and pay restitutions.

Roman Valeryevich Seleznev, 40:

  • Roman Seleznev is a convicted hacker and credit card fraudster who was serving a 27-year sentence in the US.
  • Seleznev was arrested in the Maldives in 2014. He was extradited to the US and sentenced in April 2017 for hacking into point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers to the criminal underworld. In November that year, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Artem Dultsev (age unknown)

  • Artem Dultsev is a Russian spy who was living undercover in Slovenia, posing as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gish.
  • He pleaded guilty to espionage at a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and was sentenced to more than a year and half in prison. According to a statement from the court, he was set to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Slovenia for five years.

Anna Dultseva (age unknown)

  • Anna Dultseva,?pleaded guilty to espionage alongside Dultsev on Wednesday. Also a Russian spy, she posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and is thought to be married to Dultsev. She went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. Like Dultsev, she was sentenced to time served and deportation.

Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin (age unknown)

  • Mikushin is a Russian spy arrested in Norway in 2022. He was working at the University of Troms? in the Arctic Circle, pretending to be a Brazilian researcher.

Pavel Rubtsov (age unknown)

  • A Russian spy who was living in Poland under the false pretence of being a Spanish journalist called Pablo Gonzales. He was arrested in February 2022, according to the Polish state news agency PAP.

Which Russian opposition figures were released

At least seven Russian oppositions were released as a part of the historic prisoner exchange on Thursday. They are:

Ilya Yashin, 41:

  • Kremlin critic?Ilya Yashin?was sentenced to eight years and six months for spreading “false information” about the Russian army in December 2022.
  • Yashin, a close ally of the late Russian opposition leader?Alexey Navalny,?was convicted of spreading “false” statements about the circumstances of the killings of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops in?Bucha, a town north of Kyiv.
  • Russia criminalized criticism of the military following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The court said he would serve his sentence “in a strict regime correctional colony.”

Alexandra Skochilenko, 33:

  • The Russian artist was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2023 after replacing price tags with anti-war messages in a St. Petersburg grocery store?as an act of protest.
  • In her final statement in court before the verdict, Skochilenko questioned the perceived threat posed by her actions, stating, “How little faith does our prosecutor have in our state and society if he believes that our statehood and public safety can be destroyed by five small pieces of paper?”

Oleg Orlov, 71:

  • The human rights defender and the former head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization “Memorial” was sentenced to two and half years in prison for speaking up against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Lilia Chanysheva, 42:

  • A former staffer in the Navalny’s organization, Chanysheva was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in June 2023, after being found guilty of “organizing an extremist community.”
  • In April, the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan increased her sentence to nine and half years.

Ksenia Fadeeva, 32:

  • Another former associate of Navalny, Fadeeva was sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2023. She was convicted of organizing the activities of an extremist group using her official position and participating in a non-profit organization that violated citizens’ rights.

Vadim Ostanin (age unknown):

  • Another former staffer in Alexei Navalny’s foundation, Ostanin was sentenced to nine years in prison on extremism charges.

Andrei Pivovarov (age unknown):

  • An opposition activist and human rights defender, Pivovarov served as the head of the?since banned Open Russia movement. He was sentenced to?four years in a penal colony in July 2022, according to Amnesty International.

US teacher in Russian prison not included in US-Russia prisoner swap, family lawyer says

Marc Fogel, an American sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in Russia, is not included in the massive US-Russia prisoner swap, his family’s lawyer Sasha Phillips tells CNN.?

Fogel called his family today from the penal colony in Russia which meant that he was not on his way out of the country, Phillips said. The White House has not called his family, but State Department Deputy Secretary for Management Richard Verma called to tell them the news about an hour ago, Phillips said.?

The news was shocking for the family, who has been working tirelessly to try to make sure that Fogel would be included in any prisoner swap.?

Fogel was charged with smuggling drugs and given a 14-year prison sentence in 2022.?His family and lawyer said he was carrying it for medical purposes that had been recommended by a doctor to treat “severe spinal pain.”

Fogel has not been deemed wrongfully detained by the US. He?worked for nearly a decade as a history teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where children of US diplomats were among his students.

Convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov has been returned to Russia

Vadim Krasikov, a former high ranking FSB colonel serving a life sentence in German prison.

Vadim Krasikov, a former high-ranking FSB colonel serving a life sentence in a German prison, was on the top of Moscow’s list of Russian prisoners it wanted to exchange.

Krasikov was convicted of the 2019 murder of former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten.

The German court that convicted Krasikov in 2021 said he acted on behalf of the Russian state, shooting Khangoshvili “execution style” in broad daylight. Khangoshvili fought against Russian forces during the Chechen wars and later relocated to Georgia, where he survived several assassination attempts. Wanted in Russia on terror charges, he was a particular thorn in the side of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and close ally of Putin.

The Kremlin has made no secret of its desire to get Krasikov back to Russia, asking for him to be released in 2022 alongside?Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US, in?exchange for Whelan?and the WNBA star Brittney Griner.

When the US couldn’t get Krasikov released, Moscow refused to let Whelan go, even though the Biden administration offered several other people instead.

Earlier this year, a top aide to?Alexey Navalny?said the Russian opposition leader was just days away from being exchanged for Krasikov before he died mysteriously in a Russian penal colony. CNN was unable to independently confirm the plans.

Biden celebrates "feat of diplomacy" securing release of Americans detained in Russia

US President Joe Biden welcomed news that wrongfully detained Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan have been exchanged as part of a prisoner swap with Russia, calling it “a feat of diplomacy.”

Biden?will speak at the White House at noon ET on the release of the Americans.

“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,” Biden wrote.

Biden has repeatedly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release Gershkovich, Whelan and other wrongfully detained Americans in Russia.

“My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.”

CNN reported earlier Thursday that Biden met this morning with families of detained Americans in Russia at the White House — he’s scheduled to deliver remarks at noon.

These are the German citizens released in the prisoner exchange

At least five German citizens have been released in today’s prisoner exchange. To ensure their release, Germany had to release Russian Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer who was serving a life sentence.

Here are the German citizens who were freed:

Rico Krieger, 30 or 31:

  • The German citizen was?sentenced to death?in Belarus in June after being charged with terrorism and mercenary activities.
  • Little is known about Krieger. The group Human Rights Center “Viasna” said Krieger is a German Red Cross employee. The Belarusian authorities said he was a German citizen born in 1993.
  • According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as an emergency medical technician for the German Red Cross and as an armed security officer for the US Embassy in Berlin.
  • Krieger was pardoned by the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on July 30, according to Lukashenko’s office.

Kevin Lick, 18:

  • Lik, a dual citizen of Russia and Germany, was convicted of high treason in December 2023, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
  • TASS said Lick was accused of photographing and filming military equipment and personnel at the Maikop garrison in Russia. According to the court, he intended to provide the information to German intelligence.

Demuri (Dieter) Voronin:

  • Voronin was accused of helping Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and adviser to the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos accused of treason, according to Russian state news agency?TASS.
  • According to the indictment, quoted by Russian state media, Demuri Voronin, a German citizen, facilitated Safronov’s cooperation with the German Federal Intelligence Service.
  • Safronov was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Voronin to 13 years and 3 months, according to the Russian state news agency RIA.

Herman Moyzhes:

  • A lawyer a?nd cycling activist, Moyzhes was charged earlier this month with treason for helping Russian citizens obtain residence permits in Europe, according to TASS.
  • His arrest was criticized as politically motivated by the German Jewish community.

Patrick Schoebel:

  • Schoebel was detained at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg in January for carrying a bag containing cannabis gummy bears, according to the press service of St. Petersburg courts.

These are the US citizens who were released today

From top left: US journalist Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were among the 24?detainees released as part of a complex prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other Western nations.

Here’s what we know about the US citizens who were released today:

  • Evan Gershkovich, 32: The Wall Street Journal reporter was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in July, the first American journalist to be arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War. The US government, Gershkovich’s newspaper and his supporters have denounced the trial as a sham.
  • Paul Whelan, 54: Former US Marine Whelan has spent almost six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow in December 2018. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges that he and the US government vehemently deny. He said he was in the country for a friend’s wedding. Like Gershkovich, Whelan has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department. He is also an Irish, British and Canadian citizen.
  • Alsu Kurmasheva, 47: The Russian-American journalist was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army. Kurmasheva was sentenced on the same day that a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg convicted?Gershkovich.
  • Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42: A prominent Russian opposition politician and human rights defender, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine. He is a permanent resident of the US and a dual citizen of Russia and the United Kingdom. He was initially detained in 2022, hours after an interview with CNN in which he criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “regime of murderers.” He was moved a number of times in recent months and was transferred to a prison hospital earlier this month. His lawyers have been repeatedly denied access to him.

Biden worked the phones on prisoner deal just an hour before dropping out of 2024 race

President Joe Biden’s efforts to finalize Thursday’s prisoner exchange were ongoing even as he was preparing to drop out of the 2024 race.?

About an hour before he publicly released a letter ending his reelection bid, Biden was on the phone with his Slovenian counterpart to urge them to help push the deal over the finish line, according to a senior administration official.

On Thursday, Biden is expected to pay tribute to the Americans whom the US government would still like to see returned home.

A senior administration official said the administration had also sought the release of Marc Fogel – an American citizen who was sentenced to 14 years at a labor camp in Russia after working as a history teacher in Moscow – but was not successful.

“We absolutely wanted Marc to be included, but it just wasn’t going to happen,” the official said, insisting that the administration would only “keep redoubling our efforts” to see Fogel and others released.

The official stressed that the prisoner swap does not signal any kind of “breakthrough” or “détente” in US-Russian relations, as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues with Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.?

CIA played a critical role in historic prisoner exchange, US official says

The CIA worked for years through a channel with Russian intelligence, playing a critical role in Thursday’s exchange of prisoners with Director Bill Burns and other agency officials directly involved in negotiations, according to a US official.

The latest proposal for the swap was presented to Russian intelligence in a third country in late June. Burns was not in attendance, other CIA officials attended the meeting. In early July, the Russian side indicated in a phone call with Burns that they agreed, in principal, to the proposal. In mid-July, it was formally accepted.?

Russia has referred to this as the “special channel.”

The US official declined to name the third country but the Turkish intelligence service, called MIT, created “dialogue channels” and hosted the final meeting between intelligence officials before today’s swap, according to the Turkish president’s office.

US officials confirm biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since Cold War

US officials have confirmed the biggest prisoner exchange since the Cold War following complicated — and delicate — behind-the-scenes negotiations between the United States, Russia, Belarus and Germany.

Twenty-four prisoners were released and seven countries were involved in the exchange.

President Joe Biden gathered the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House on Thursday to relay the news that their loved ones were heading home, Sullivan said.

Who has been released in the massive prisoner exchange

The three US citizens and one legal permanent resident returning home from Russia comprise:

  • Journalist Evan Gershkovich
  • Former US Marine Paul Whelan
  • Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva
  • Prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US resident.

The 12 German nationals and Russian political prisoners who will return to Germany, comprise:

  • Dieter Voronin,
  • Kevin Lick,
  • Rico Krieger,
  • Patrick Schoebel,
  • Herman Moyzhes,
  • Ilya Yashin,
  • Liliya Chanysheva,
  • Kseniya Fadeyeva,
  • Vadim Ostanin,
  • Andrey Pivovarov,
  • Oleg Orlov,
  • Sasha Skochilenko

The released Russians are:

  • Vadim Krasikov — released from Germany
  • Artem Viktorovich Dultsev — released from Slovenia
  • Anna Valerevna Dultseva — released from Slovenia
  • Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin — released from Norway
  • Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov — released from Norway
  • Roman Seleznev — released from the US
  • Vladislav Klyushin — released from the US
  • Vadim Konoshchenock — released from the US

Families of American prisoners are at the White House awaiting a meeting with Biden, source says?

The families of the American prisoners involved in the exchange are at the White House, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, ahead of an anticipated meeting with President Joe Biden.

The families have gathered in the White House’s Roosevelt Room as President Biden is briefed in the Oval Office.

"All the enemies" of Russia should stay abroad, Kremlin spokesperson tells state news agency

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he believes all “enemies” of Russia should remain abroad and those who are not “enemies” are welcome to return, Russian state news agency TASS reports.

His comments follow the news of a historic prisoner swap between the US and Russia.

When asked specifically about the prisoner exchange, Peskov indicated the Kremlin would respond in “due time,” adding that he hopes the response would come later in the day.

The post was updated with more of Peskov’s remarks.

West should not interpret prisoner swap as sign of Russian "goodwill," analyst says

The reported prisoner swap does not demonstrate the Kremlin’s “goodwill,” even if it shows Moscow’s openness to striking deals with the West, says a leading Russia analyst.

Sam Greene, the director of the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and a professor of Russian politics at King’s College London, said the Kremlin may be attempting to signal its willingness to negotiate with the West, which could bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Greene said this is “problematic for a couple of reasons.”

“One, none of these people were legitimate prisoners,” he said. “To negotiate in good faith to return a person who should never have been held in the first place, like Evan Gershkovich… to my mind doesn’t earn you a lot of brownie points.”

Whereas it is “relatively easy” for Russia to give up detainees, convincing it to relinquish Ukrainian territory is another matter entirely, he said.

Turkey says it established “dialogue channels” for historic prisoner exchange

Turkey’s intelligence agency, The National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), established “dialogue channels” for the historic prisoner exchange, according to the Turkish presidency.

The exchange between seven countries in Ankara was managed by the Turkish intelligence agency “from the very beginning of the negotiation process until the last moment when the swaps were carried out.”

Turkey confirms Gershkovich and Whelan were part of prisoner exchange

US journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were part of the historic prisoner exchange today, according to the Turkish presidency.

German national Rico Krieger, imprisoned in Belarus, the Russian dissident Ilya Yashin, and FSB colonel Vadim Krasikov, jailed in Germany, were also part of the exchange, the presidency said.

Prisoner exchange between Russia and the West could be "new page for whole world," Russian lawmaker tells CNN

A major prisoner exchange underway between?Russia and the West could be the “the start [of a] new page for the whole world,”?Russian lawmaker Maria Butina told CNN’s Matthew Chance on Thursday.

Butina?herself was a prisoner in the US, and told CNN that returned Russian prisoners from the US “have been through horrible times and they need time to recover.”

“I wouldn’t link it directly to Ukraine, but I wish and I’d like to hope that this is the start [of a] new page for the whole world, though I wouldn’t be so much optimistic that it’s going to mean something in terms of the relationships between Russia and Ukraine,” Butina said.

Kremlin spokesperson declines to comment on reports of a US-Russia prisoner exchange

The Kremlin has declined to comment on reports of a potential prisoner exchange between Russia and the US involving Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and?former US Marine Paul Whelan.?

3 Russians serving sentences for federal crimes were transferred to US Marshals

Three Russians serving sentences for federal crimes were transferred to the US Marshals Service in preparation for the eventual trade, law enforcement officials said, the first signs of the US end to the prisoner swap.

Their prison location disappeared from the US Bureau of Prisons website.?

The secrecy surrounding the Russian deal meant that even the attorney for one of the prisoners didn’t know about the pending agreement and?complained to a federal judge that they didn’t know the whereabouts of their client.?

Unlike previous swaps, the pending agreement with the prospects of trading Russian criminals for Whelan and other Americans hasn’t generated opposition among Justice Department officials, people briefed on the matter said.

The deal to trade notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout for WNBA player Brittney Griner prompted strenuous objections inside the Justice Department, CNN previously reported.?

Turkey says it played mediator role in prisoner swap involving people from 7 countries

Turkey said Thursday it played a role as a mediator in a prisoner exchange involving people from seven countries, according to the Turkish Presidency Directorate of Communications.

People seen disembarking from plane in Turkey's Ankara airport and crossing tarmac

Several people could be seen disembarking from a plane at Turkey’s Ankara airport and walking onto the tarmac on a live video from the scene, streamed by Reuters.

Some walked toward a bus parked on the tarmac, while others remained stood on the tarmac.

The footage was from around 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET.) It was not immediately clear who the people were.

Turkey has confirmed it played a mediator role in a prisoner exchange involving people from seven countries, according to Turkish Presidency Directorate of Communications.

Key things to know about Paul Whelan and his arrest in 2018

Former US marine Paul Whelan stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, on January 22, 2019.

Paul Whelan, who is expected to be a part of the prisoner swap, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges he consistently denies.?

Whelan – who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen – was detained at a Moscow hotel by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation.

The former US Marine had been carrying out his sentence at a labor camp in Mordovia, an eight-hour drive from Moscow, where he told CNN in June 2021 that he spent his days working in a clothing factory that he called a “sweatshop.”?

It’s been a particularly long wait for Whelan, who has been left out of several exchanges in the past.?

He was not part of two deals in 2022. In April of that year, Moscow exchanged former US Marine Trevor Reed for Russian citizen and convicted drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko. In December, WNBA star Brittney Griner was swapped for the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.?

Family of prisoner in expected exchange is elated but nervous, source says

A person close to one of the prisoners’ families involved in the expected prisoner swap told CNN the family is elated and?full of anticipation after months and years of pain and false starts.

The source said they’re also nervous and won’t be truly comfortable until they see their loved ones safe.

The relatives had been staying at a Washington, DC, hotel, and were waiting to meet with President Joe Biden, the source said.

"Press freedom is a fundamental right": Media non-profits celebrate Gershkovich's expected release

Reporters Without Borders said it is “hugely relieved” by reports that the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich is expected to be a part of a prisoner swap with Russia, but asserted he “should have never spent a single day in a Russian prison.”

In a statement, Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns decried what she described as the “Russian government’s continued policy of state hostage-taking” as “outrageous.”

Vincent also drew attention to the detention of more than 40 other journalists in Russia.

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom also celebrated Gershkovich’s expected release, with the watchdog writing in a post that they “celebrate Evan’s freedom and will keep pushing for the release of all detained journalists in Europe.”

“Press freedom is a fundamental right,” it said.

The groups also expressed hope that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) editor Alsu Kurmasheva would also be part of the exchange.

CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report.

This post has been updated with additional reactions.

"This is going to be a legacy piece" for Biden, coalition spokesperson says of expected prisoner swap?

President Joe Biden is pictured as he delivers a prime-time address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on July 24.

Jonathan Franks, the spokesperson for the “Bring Our Families Home Campaign,” a coalition of family members of Americans detained abroad, said both Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich?and former US Marine?Paul Whelan’s expected release “is going to be a legacy piece for President Biden, adding the administration has “brought home a historic number of people” during his administration.

Franks was involved in the return of?Trevor Reed in 2022, a US citizen and former Marine who had been detained in Russia since 2019, ending a nearly three-year encounter for Reed, who had been sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2020 for endangering the “life and health” of Russian police officers in an altercation.

Reed and his family denied the charges against him.

Franks said he wasn’t all too surprised when Whelan didn’t make it back to the US with Reed, but he was surprised when he didn’t come home with Brittney Griner, who was?freed from Russian detention?after a prisoner exchange for convicted arms dealer?Viktor Bout in 2022.

Gershkovich?was the 1st American journalist arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War

US journalist Evan Gershkovich is seen inside a defendants' cage before a hearing at the Moscow City Court on February 20.

Evan Gershkovich, who is expected to be among those in the prisoner swap, was the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War.?

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested while reporting for the Wall Street Journal during a trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and later accused of spying for the CIA.?Russian authorities have never offered any public evidence to support their claims.?

Within two weeks of his arrest, the US State Department designated him as wrongfully detained and called for his immediate release.?

Following his arrest, Gershkovich?was held in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison, spending almost every hour of the day in a small cell,?before being transferred to the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals more than 1,100 miles east of the capital.

He passed the time by writing letters to his friends and family and was allowed just one hour of walking per day, his parents said in an interview with the WSJ.?

Gershkovich was found guilty of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court on July 19, in a case that the US government, the WSJ and his supporters denounced as a sham.?

Gershkovich, the US government, and the WSJ vehemently denied the charges against him.?

CNN’s Sophie Tanno, Anna Chernova and Moscow staff contributed reporting to this post.?

US and Russia carrying out massive prisoner swap, including number of Americans, official says

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan.

Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine?Paul Whelan?are expected to be a part of the swap, according to a senior administration official said.

Thursday’s swap comes after months of quiet and complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington, which included US diplomats scouring the globe for offers to entice Russia to release the Americans.

Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. He was found guilty of espionage by a Russian court on July 19 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial that the US government, his newspaper and supporters have denounced as a sham.

Whelan – who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen – was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation.

This post has been updated with additional background.

Today's US-Russia prisoner swap is the third major exchange since April 2022

American basketball star Brittney Griner disembarks after landing in San Antonio, Texas, on December 9, 2022, after she was released from a Russian prison in exchange.

Thursday’s swap is the third major prisoner exchange between Russia and the US in just over two years.

  • In April 2022, American?Trevor Reed, a US citizen and former Marine who had been detained in Russia since 2019 was freed in a prisoner swap. He had been sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2020 for endangering the “life and health” of Russian police officers in an altercation.
  • In December 2022, WNBA star Brittney Griner was released from Russian detention in a swap that involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.?The two-time Olympic gold-medalist spent nearly 300 days in Russian custody after being detained in February 2022 and sentenced to nine years in prison under?drug-smuggling charges?after authorities in the country found cannabis oil in her luggage.

US and Russia carrying out massive prisoner swap, including number of Americans

A view shows the Kremlin in Moscow on May 7.

There is expected to be a large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia, including a number of Americans, according to a source familiar.

The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and that prisoners are expected to soon be in US custody, according to a senior administration official.

Some of the Americans that have been discussed as part of the negotiations are Wall Street Journal reporter?Evan Gershkovich and?former US Marine?Paul Whelan.