U.S. to conduct prisoner exchange with Russia Thursday morning
Aug 1, 2024, 6:38 AM | Updated: 4:11 pm
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin leads the meeting with top security and law enforcement officials in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 30, 2023. Russia plans to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
MOSCOW, Russia — Russia plans to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.
According to Forbes, details on the deal, such as who the U.S. will release and when exactly the exchange will happen on Thursday, are still developing.
Neither the Russian nor the U.S. Government has publicly commented on the prisoner exchange, Forbes reports. At least one other country is expected to be part of the prisoner swap.
CNN reports that Whelan has been held in Russia for five years while Gershkovich has been held for one year.
Whelan was arrested in Moscow in 2018 for alleged involvement with an intelligence operation.
Gershkovich was arrested in 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg. Russian authorities found him guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. According to CNN, the U.S. government has denounced the trial as a “sham.”
This story is breaking and may be updated.
