watch nowWall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released Thursday by Russia as part of a major, multi-nation swap of two dozen prisoners.
"All four have been imprisoned unjustly in Russia," President Joe Biden said in a televised address from the White House, where he was flanked by their family members.
Eight Russians, including the spy and convicted hitman Vadim Krasikov, are being returned to Russia from the United States, Slovenia, Norway, Poland and Germany.
"The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy," Biden said in a statement released by the White House, where Biden planned to meet family members of the released Americans.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Americans detained in Russia during brief remarks from the White House in Washington, U.S., August 1, 2024.
Persons:
Evan Gershkovich, U.S . Marine Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Joe Biden, Vadim Krasikov, Paul Whelan, Krasikov, Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva, Kara, Biden, we've, Jake Sullivan, " Sullivan, Nathan Howard, Reuters Gershkovich, Dieter Voronin, Kevin Lick, Rico Krieger, Patrick Schoebel, Herman Moyzhes, Ilya Yashin, Liliya, Kseniya Fadeyeva, Vadim Ostanin, Andrey Pivovarov, Oleg Orlov, Sasha Skochilenko, Artem Viktorovich Dultsev, Anna Valerevna Dultseva, Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin, Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov, Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klyushin, Vadim Konoshchenock
Organizations:
Wall Street, U.S . Marine, White, Biden, National, Reuters
Locations:
Russia, American, Russian, Turkey, United States, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, Germany, Chechen, Berlin, Washington , U.S, Moscow