Freed American journalist hugs mother after arriving back in US following historic prisoner exchange with Russia

Three Americans freed from Russian prisons under a landmark exchange deal have landed back in the US.

Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan were part of a deal which saw 24 people released in the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

They were welcomed on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, by US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Photos captured the emotional moment the American prisoners were reunited with their families.

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The Wall Street Journal reporter Mr Gershkovich could be seen hugging his mother Ella Milman and Ms Kurmasheva had an emotional reunion with her husband Pavel Butorin, and daughters Miriam Butorin and Bibi Butorin.

The freed Americans lingered on the tarmac in Maryland, soaking up the moment of their return to the US.

They took selfies with family members and friends, shared hugs with Mr Biden and Ms Harris, and patted loved ones on the back and smothered them with kisses.

At one point, Mr Biden gave Mr Whelan the flag pin off his own lapel.

‘An extraordinary day’

Ms Harris said it was “an extraordinary day” and praised Mr Biden’s role in the prisoner exchange.

In a jab at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Ms Harris said: “This is a testament to having a president that understands the power of diplomacy.”

Asked about concerns that the deal may incentivise the detention of Americans in Russia, Mr Biden said: “I don’t buy this idea that you let these people rot in jail because other people may be captured.”

The complex trade was negotiated with Russia and several other countries in secret for more than a year.

The return of Mr Gershkovich, Ms Kurmasheva, and Mr Whelan comes after the 13 other Western detainees were flown to Germany last night.

Among them was dual UK-Russian citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years after being convicted for criticising the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Eight Russian prisoners were released from prisons in the US, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Poland under the deal.

“Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world,” Mr Biden said.

The Americans freed under the deal

Mr Gershkovich was first arrested and detained in March 2023 after Russia claimed he had been “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA.

The 32-year-old said the charges against him were false and his employer called the case a sham.

He was jailed for 16 years earlier this month after being convicted of espionage in a trial widely seen as politically motivated.

Mr Gershkovich’s family said in a statement released by The Wall Street Journal: “We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close.”

The paper’s editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a “joyous day”.

Ms Kurmasheva holds Russian and US citizenship and is a journalist for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, a media organisation funded by the US.

She was detained in June 2023 and later accused of spreading false information about the Russian military, which she denied.

Last month, she was sentenced to more than six years in prison.

A former US marine, Mr Whelan had been in custody in Russia since he was arrested in a Moscow hotel room on 28 December 2018.

Police said they caught him “red-handed” with a computer memory stick containing a list of Russian secret agents.

He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison.

Mr Whelan, who also holds British citizenship, had pleaded not guilty, claiming he was set up by a sting operation and that he had been given the USB drive by someone else, thinking it only contained holiday photos.

Prisoners sent back to Russia

In return for setting free the likes of Mr Gershkovich, Ms Kurmasheva and Mr Whelan, Russian nationals were released the other way.

This included Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison for killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier – allegedly on the orders of Moscow’s security services.

Throughout the negotiations, Moscow persistently pressed for his release.

Vladimir Putin himself raised it during a February 2024 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

He stopped short of naming Krasikov, but appeared to refer to him when saying that a Russian “patriot” had been imprisoned in a “US-allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who had killed Russian soldiers during fighting in the Caucasus.

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