Tears, hugs and a salute as three freed Americans back on US soil after historic prisoner swap with Russia

(CNN) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva have landed in the United States, following the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

The returnees were greeted with tears and embraces by their joyous families at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also on the tarmac to welcome them after their plane touched down some 20 minutes before midnight on Thursday.

Whelan, who was first to exit the plane, gave a salute before shaking hands with the US leaders, followed by Gershkovich, who embraced both Harris and Biden before hugging his ecstatic parents. Kurmasheva rushed into the arms of her husband and daughters after greeting Harris and Biden.

Gershkovich went quickly to address media gathered at the tarmac, telling his Wall Street Journal colleagues the words they had been waiting more than a year to hear. “I’m home,” he said.

Biden observed the emotional family reunions, then removed his pin and placed it on Whelan’s lapel as Harris looked on.

“It feels wonderful. Long time in coming. I was absolutely convinced we could get it done. I meant it when I said – alliances make a difference. They stepped up and took a chance for us and it mattered a lot,” Biden told reporters, referring to the extensive diplomatic effort that resulted in the swap.

The return marks the conclusion of what Biden called a “brutal ordeal” for the three Americans and their families following their detentions in Russia, where prisoners are often kept in harrowing conditions.

Whelan, 54, had spent almost six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow in December 2018, while Gershkovich, 32, had been detained for more than a year. Both were sentenced on espionage charges and declared wrongfully detained by the US State Department.

Kurmasheva, a 47-year-old journalist for the US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in October 2023 and found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army – charges her family and employer deny.

Their release – and that of Washington Post contributor and permanent US resident Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42 – was orchestrated as part of a complex prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other Western nations involving 24 detainees in total.

Sixteen people were released from Russian custody on Thursday, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Moscow in return got former high-ranking FSB colonel Vadim Krasikov, as well as several individuals accused of spying or cybercrime.

The prisoner exchange marks a major diplomatic achievement and legacy-defining moment for Biden less than six months before he leaves office.

In a statement earlier Thursday, Biden hailed the agreement as a “feat of diplomacy,” in collaboration with US allies, including Germany, Poland, Norway, Turkey and Slovenia.

“Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,” said Biden, who hosted the families of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House.

Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva flew roughly 10 hours from Ankara, Turkey, on top of a three-hour-and-45-minute flight from Moscow to Ankara.

They were accompanied on their return plane by multiple medics, a psychologist and US government officials including representatives from the National Security Council and State Department, a US official told CNN.

A little less than two hours after touching down at Joint Base Andrews, the three Americans and some of their family members continued on to San Antonio where they landed early Friday morning. At Kelly Field, Whelan thanked US authorities for their efforts to bring him home and criticized Putin’s government for their “nonsense narrative” that accused him of espionage. “I’m never going back there again,” Whelan joked, referring to Russa.

The three Americans will be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo medical evaluation and receive whatever care they need for as long as they need, the US official said.

This is typical protocol for wrongfully detained Americans who return home. WNBA player Brittney Griner also went to the center right after she was released from Russian detention in December 2022.

The returnees will also participate in a Defense Department program called PISA (Post Isolation Support Activities), which is meant to help them readjust to being back in the United States. Many recently freed US wrongful detainees have undergone this program to help them acclimate back to normal life.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s MJ Lee, Sam Waldenberg, Betsy Klein, Paul P. Murphy, Mariya Knight, Ivana Kottasová, Anna Chernova, Colin McCullough, Jennifer Hansler and Rosa Flores contributed to this report.