Live updates: Biden praises allies in celebrating largest prisoner swap since Cold War

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva following their release.

He said they sounded in “good spirits.” Patel says they will be back in the U.S. in the “coming hours to be reunited with their families.”

— Lauren Sforza

President Biden released a photo of the prisoners flying home.

“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,” he wrote alongside the photo.

— Yash Roy

Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake, former Republican senator from Arizona, said that the detainees are on their way from Turkey to the U.S.

Flake shared on X, “Wheels up in Ankara! Next stop USA.”
The freed American detainees traveled to Turkey for the prisoner exchange.

— Alex Gangitano

Vice President Harris spoke Thursday with Yulia Navalny, widow of Alexey Navalny, following the release of the 16 individuals being held in Russia.

Some of those who were released as part of Thursday’s deal were Russian dissidents who worked with Navalny.

— Brett Samuels

National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden and Harris will greet three of the released detainees at Andrews Air Force Base, just outside of Washington, D.C., when they arrive.

“You can expect to see Evan, Paul, and Alsu, later tonight on American soil and… they’ll be landing at Andrews Air Force Base. The president and the vice president will be out there to greet them,” Sullivan said.

He added that Vladimir Kara-Murza will travel to Germany and his family is traveling there to join him. Sullivan said he’s expected back in the U.S. “soon” and will see the president.

— Alex Gangitano

Former President Trump questioned the details of the prisoner swap, asking if the U.S. received or paid cash for the prisoners and added that the U.S. “never makes good deals.”

“So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps. Our ‘negotiators’ are always an embarrassment to us!”

Trump also mentioned his own record of hostage swaps, claiming he gave the counter-country “NOTHING.”

“I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHING – and never any cash,” Trump said. “To do so is bad precedent for the future. That’s the way it should be, or this situation will get worse and worse. They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade ‘complex’ – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is!”

— Yash Roy

National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that Vice President Harris was a “core member of the team that helped make this happen.

“Sullivan said Harris met face-to-face with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the Munich Security Conference in February and was able to raise the issue of the prisoner swap.He noted Harris was regularly involved in Oval Office briefings on the situation involving unjustly held Americans.

Harris is the likely Democratic nominee for president after Biden ended his candidacy.

— Brett Samuels

Before coming out to address the nation, President Biden stood next to the families of the American prisoners held in Russia in the Oval Office while they spoke to their family members for the first time.

“Today, I stood beside the families of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir in the Oval Office as they spoke to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom,” Biden wrote on X.

“These families never lost hope. And today, they’ll each be reunited with the missing piece of their soul.”

— Yash Roy

The Biden administration had been working on a deal that would have included the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the time of his death in February.

“We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny, and unfortunately he died,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

“In fact, on the very day that he died, I saw Evan’s parents and I told them that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news, and that we were gonna work day and night to get to this day,” he continued. “And so that work continued over the past few months and culminated in today.”

— Brett Samuels

Pennsylvania governor and potential Democratic vice presidential nominee Josh Shapiro (D) celebrated the return of Gershkovich, hailing the efforts of his parents, who now live in Philadelphia.

“Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich advocated for over a year to bring their son Evan home from a Russian prison,” Shapiro wrote.

“When we spoke, I told them Lori and I were praying for Evan — and the return of every American wrongfully detained.”

Shapiro also thanked President Biden and the State Department for their leadership.

“I am grateful, relieved, and thrilled that Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza are finally coming home, and making their families whole,” he added.

— Yash Roy

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan got choked up as he spoke about efforts to free the three Americans from Russian custody.

“I spent a lot of time with the families of Evan and Paul and Alsu, and most of the time as you can imagine, those are tough conversations. But not today,” Sullivan said, pausing to collect himself.

“Today was a very good day,” he said. “And we’re going to build on it.”

— Brett Samuels

The Wall Street Journal posted the first post-release photo of Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) thanked President Biden for his efforts in returning New Jerseyan Evan Gershkovich home.

“Evan is a New Jersey native and Princeton High School graduate who was wrongfully convicted of espionage by the brutal Putin regime — a pawn in a politically motivated game,” he wrote. “I am praying for his safety and health as he returns home to his family and reacclimates to life back in the U.S.”

Princeton High School, where Gershkovich played soccer and helped lead the team to a state championship in 2009, hosted a soccer game to raise awareness for him in September, donning jerseys with his name and number. He graduated from the high school in 2010.

“As a PHS alum he will continue to be an inspiration for the entire learning community,” Princeton High School principal Cecilia Birge wrote to The Hill. “For us, Evan wrote a story of resilience, inspiration, courage, and victory. We look forward to welcoming him home in the near future.”

— Yash Roy

The Wall Street Journal’s reporter union celebrated the release of Gershkovich by Russia, writing “Evan is free now!”

“Once reports of a prisoner exchange, possibly involving Evan and others, started filtering out of Russia on Wednesday, Journal colleagues were hopeful and cautiously optimistic, but reluctant to make or share any comments until the news everyone had hoped for was 100% verified,” the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE) wrote in a statement.

“Welcome home, Evan.”

“WSJ Editor in Chief Emma Tucker had encouraged staff to use the hashtag #istandwithevan in social-media posts after Evan’s arrest,” they added in a statement.

“And now, we are finally able to change that message.”

Newsguild-CWA union President Jon Schleuss, which is the largest union for reporters in North America, also celebrated the release.

“North America’s journalists are thrilled that WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich is being released,” Schleuss wrote. “Journalism is not a crime. Russia’s actions to arrest & sentence Evan were a disgrace.”

— Yash Roy

President Biden thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for delivering on “significant concessions” in the release of a convicted Russian murderer from a German jail to secure the release of Americans held in Russia and other unjustly detained prisoners.

“I particularly owe a great sense of gratitude to the chancellor [of Germany], the demands they [Russia] 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 in remarks from the White House.

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

Germany released convicted murder Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national, to allow for the release in a Russian jail of Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others.

Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesperson for the German government, reportedly said the decision to release Krasikov “was offset by the freedom, physical well-being and — in some cases — ultimately the lives of innocent people imprisoned in Russia and those wrongfully imprisoned for political reasons. Our obligation to protect German citizens and solidarity with the United States were important motivators.”

— Laura Kelly

Former Vice President Mike Pence celebrated the news of Thursday’s prisoner exchange.

“Evan Gershkovich is Free. Welcome Home Evan, Paul Whelan and all those unjustly held by the tyranny of Russia,” Pence posted on X. “Great day for Freedom of the Press and Great Day for America.”

— Brett Samuels

Deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, says he would “like the traitors of Russia to rot in prison or die in jail,” but that it is sometimes more “useful” to trade them.

“Of course, we would like the traitors of Russia to rot in prison or die in jail as has often happened,” the former Russian president and prime minister wrote in a post on Telegram shortly after the exchange occurred. “But it is more useful to get out our own, who worked for the country, for the Fatherland, for all of us. And let the traitors now feverishly pick new names and actively disguise themselves under the witness protection program.”

— Yash Roy

Vice President Harris celebrated the release of Americans freed from Russian prisons and said she would not stop working for those who remain wrongfully detained.

“Today, we celebrate the release of Paul, Evan, Alsu, Vladimir, and others who were unjustly held in Russia. It gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is over and that they will soon be reunited with their families,” she wrote on X.

“@POTUS and I will not stop working until every American who is wrongfully detained or held hostage is brought home.”

— Colin Meyn

A reporter asked Biden about Trump saying that he would have gotten hostages out without giving anything in exchange.

“Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden replied, before departing from the lectern.

— Alex Gangitano

Biden said that he doesn’t need to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the release of the American detainees.

He was asked if he would be willing to speak with Putin now, directly, and the president replied, “I don’t need to speak with Putin.”

When asked if the prisoner exchange improved relations with Russia, Biden relied, “As my sister might say, your lips to God’s ears, man.”

— Alex Gangitano

Biden started a happy birthday to Miriam Butorin, the daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, who is turning 13 years old.

“Remember, no serious guys until you’re 30,” he said after singing, to laughter from the group.

“She’s Alsu’s daughter. Now she gets to celebrate with her mom. This is what this is all about, families, able to be together again,” Biden said.

— Alex Gangitano

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the governments of Germany, Poland, Norway, Slovenia and Turkey were essential in carrying out the historic exchange.

“Through the extraordinary efforts of countless people in the State Department and across our government, the United States was able to strike an agreement to secure their freedom, as well as that of Vladimir Kara-Murza and twelve others held prisoner inside Russia,” Blinken said.

“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.”

— Laura Kelly

President Biden on Thursday said that 16 people were freed from prison in Russia, including four Americans, five Germans and seven Russian citizens who are political prisoners in their own country.

— Laura Kelly

Biden gave his remarks at the White House, surrounded by family members of those released hostages.

Family members stood by his side during his speech, including Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan; the husband and daughters of Alsu Kurmasheva; the father, mother and sister of Evan Gershkovich; and wife and children of Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Biden said that earlier in the day, he and the families spoke with those released from the Oval Office while they were on their way to Turkey.

— Alex Gangitano

Biden thanked allies, Slovenia Norway and Turkey, for their help with the release.

“They all stepped up and they stood with us,” he said. “And they made bold and brave decisions.”

He added that “for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do, they matter.”

— Alex Gangitano

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the release of Russian-British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza and the Americans criticized as unjustly detained in Russia.

“I welcome the release of a number of prisoners held in Russia, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich,” Starmer said in a statement. “My thoughts are with them and their loved ones as they are reunited. We will continue to call on Russia to uphold freedom of political expression.”

— Laura Kelly

Former President Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) suggested Thursday’s prisoner swap was motivated by Trump’s potential return to the White House, according to CNN.

“We certainly want these Americans to come back home…But we have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home?…it’s because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump’s about to be back in office, so they’re cleaning house,” Alayna Treene wrote on X, citing reporting from Steve Contorno.

The family of Paul Whelan said in a statement they were discouraged from speaking publicly about his case during the Trump administration, but that media attention was “crucial” in securing his release.

“Those first years were hard when the Trump Administration ignored Paul’s wrongful detention, and it was media attention that helped to finally create critical mass and awareness within the U.S. government,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, said in a statement.

— Laura Kelly

The family of former Marine Paul Whelan expressed thanks to the Biden administration, the media, lawmakers and Americans who supported him during his detention.

The family said Paul Whelan was held for 2,043 days.

“His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract concessions,” they said.

“Paul Whelan is not in a Russian labor colony any longer, but he is not home. While Paul was wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, he lost his home,” they said.

“He lost his job. We are unsure how someone overcomes these losses and rejoins society after being a hostage. We are grateful for everyone’s efforts to help Paul while he was away.”

“We hope you will continue to help him by providing Paul the space and privacy he needs as he rebuilds his life. It is Paul’s story to tell and he will tell it when he is able.”

— Brad Dress

Vadim Krasikov, who was at the top of Russia’s wish list in the prisoner swap, has returned to Russia, CNN reported.

Krasikov, who was in German prison, was convicted in 2021 of shooting to death Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity, in a Berlin park.

The German judges concluded it was an assassination ordered by the Russian security services. Krasikov, 58, was sentenced to life imprisonment. President Vladimir Putin this year hinted at a possible swap for Krasikov.

AP contributed reporting