This is a historic exchange with the West. Several of the prisoners released by Russia, including journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan, arrived in the United States on Thursday evening, August 1. The former detainees arrived on a plane that landed around 11:40 p.m. (5:40 a.m., Friday in Paris) at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, where they were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Follow our live feed.
An exchange of 26 prisoners. Russia and the West have exchanged 26 of their nationals. The list includes American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained since March 2023, former US Marine Paul Whelan, imprisoned for espionage in Russia since the end of 2018, Rico Krieger, a German convicted in Belarus for “terrorism” and “mercenarism”, or Russian opponent Ilya Yashin, sentenced in late 2022 in Russia to eight and a half years in prison for having denounced crimes attributed to Moscow in Ukraine.
An exchange marked by the absence of Navalny. The West welcomed the release of prisoners, but the United States revealed that Alexei Navalny could also have been on the list, had he not died in prison. “We had worked with our partners on an agreement that would have included Alexei Navalny but, unfortunately, he died” in February under unclear circumstances, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan lamented.
Fears “for their lives”. The German Chancellor welcomed several of them at Cologne airport, arriving from Ankara. “It was very moving”said Olaf Scholz, because “many did not expect that” their release “is happening now and they are still full of emotions about finally being free”. Furthermore, “Many feared for their health and also for their lives, it must be said.”