President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hugged journalist Evan Gershkovich on Thursday (Aug 1) as he and two other Americans arrived back on US soil after being freed by Russia in a huge prisoner swap.
Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were met by cheers from family and friends as they disembarked a plane, before each embracing Biden and Harris.
“It feels wonderful, it was a long time coming,” Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, where he and Harris welcomed the freed prisoners at around 11.40pm.
They were among two dozen detainees released earlier Thursday in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
A fourth freed prisoner, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian Kremlin critic with US residency, was also among those freed but was returning separately to the United States.
In total 10 Russians, including two minors, were traded for 16 Westerners and Russians imprisoned in Russia in a dramatic exchange on the airport tarmac in Turkey’s capital Ankara.
“Alliances make a difference. They stepped up and took a chance for us,” Biden said of the deal, which also involved Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Belarus on the other side.
Harris, who is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped out of the 2024 election, heralded “an extraordinary day.”
The freed prisoners and their relatives are now expected to travel to San Antonio, Texas, for medical evaluations and any care they need at the Brooke Army Medical Center, US media said.
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