Live updates: Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan are freed in massive prisoner swap involving U.S., Russia and other countries

The White House National Security Council said in a press call today that the three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident returning home from Russia, include: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and legal permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The 12 German nationals and who will return to Germany, include: Dieter Voronin, Kevin Lick, Rico Krieger, Patrick Schoebel, Herman Moyzhes, Ilya Yashin, Liliya Chanysheva, Kseniya Fadeyeva, Vadim Ostanin, Andrey Pivovarov, Oleg Orlov, Sasha Skochilenko, according to the NSC call.

The individuals returning to Russia, include: Vadim Krasikov (from Germany), Artem Viktorovich Dultsev (from Slovenia), Anna Valerevna Dultseva (from Slovenia), Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin (from Norway), Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov (from Poland), Roman Seleznev (from the U.S.), Vladislav Klyushin (from the U.S.), and Vadim Konoshchenock (from the U.S.).

Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker celebrated the release of Evan Gershkovich with a post on X.

Three U.S. citizens — including journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan — wrongly imprisoned in Russia were released and on their way home today, part of a major multinational prisoner exchange the likes of which has not been seen since the Cold War. 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American, and Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a dual Russian British national and U.S. permanent resident who was sentenced on treason charges to 25 years in April 2023, were also released.

Read the full story here.

The Turkish government said today that the prisoner exchange is expected to take place in Ankara, Turkey’s capital.

As a prisoner swap is underway between the United States and Russia, here is a reminder of some of the high-profile names that could potentially be included. NBC News is not yet able to confirm who exactly is involved in the prisoner swap. 

The highest-profile U.S. prisoners in Russia right now are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. 

Gershkovich, 32, detained in March 2023, was convicted of espionage by a Russian court this year and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July. He has been in prison for some 70 weeks now, Allie Raffa, an NBC News White House correspondent, said Thursday morning on MSNBC.  

Whelan, 54, who has been detained since visiting Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and has been serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony. 

He was notably not a part of the high-profile December 2022 prisoner exchange of WNBA star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout. 

A prisoner swap was underway between the United States, Russia, and other countries on Thursday, according to a senior Biden administration official.

The trade is a rare example of cooperation amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, including from sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Relations between the two countries had been strained before the invasion, following Russian interference in the 2016 election and its annexation of Crimea.

Read the full story here.