U.S., Russia Agree To Prisoner Swap To Release Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan And Others

The Biden administration has agreed to a prisoner exchange with Russia and is expected to soon secure the release of three American citizens imprisoned in Russia including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a senior administration official confirms. The swap would be part of a historically complex 24-person prisoner swap between the U.S., Russia, Germany and three other Western countries. 

The exchange has not occurred yet.

Whelan and Gershkovich were both imprisoned in Russia on accusations of espionage that were consistently disputed by the United States. Kurmasheva, a dual American and Russian citizen, was detained in Russia in June of 2023 on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army. 

As part of the deal, at least 12 political prisoners held in Russia are expected to be released to Germany. Eight Russian nationals are expected to be returned to Russia, including several with suspected ties to Russian intelligence. Among the Russian nationals expected to be involved in the swap is Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer who has been serving a life sentence for a 2019 killing in Germany that the judges said had been ordered by Russian federal authorities. 

Kremlin critic and Washington Post contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza is expected to be flown to the U.S. Kara-Murza is a British-Russian citizen and a green card holder. His family lives in the U.S.

Details of the deal, which was coordinated by a number of U.S. government agencies including the White House, State Department and Central Intelligence Agency, were closely held, but speculation about the swap had mounted over several days after prominent Russian political prisoners, including Kara-Murza, were moved from their prisons. 

The White House, State Department and CIA did not immediately return a request for comment. 

When asked about the movement of Russian prisoners on Wednesday, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, "I don't want to speculate on any reasoning. What I can say is that the United States continues to be focused on working around the clock to work to get our wrongfully detained American citizens home. And that continues to be the case, but no updates beyond that."

Speaking earlier this month at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration was "determined" to make a deal happen for Americans in Russia. 

"[W]e are determined to make it happen," he said on July 19 in response to a question about Gershkovich. "And I will consider it one of the most important things between now and the end of the year, and especially now at the end of the month, for us to try to get something done where we can get him home."

Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, was taken into Russian custody while on assignment in Yekaterinburg March 2023. Russian authorities charged him with espionage, drawing immediate condemnation from the U.S. government, which determined Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained.

In July, Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court. The U.S. called his hurried trial "a sham."

Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran, was arrested in December 2018 when he was traveling in Russia to attend a friend's wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.

Whelan and his family have vehemently denied the espionage allegations against him and said he was being used as a political pawn by Russia. Whelan was left out of several previous prisoner swaps with Russia under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, whose office was an integral part of the team involved in negotiations, said at the Aspen conference on July 17, "I know Evan and Paul will come home to the United States and step onto U.S. soil."

"I just don't know when," he added.