Russia agrees to multi-nation prisoner exchange that includes Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan

The Russian Federation has agreed a multi-nation prisoner exchange deal that will release two American citizens, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, according to a Thursday morning report published by The Guardian British newspaper.

If completed, the multi-country prisoner exchange deal would be the largest since the Cold War, according to ABC News. 

Gershkovich was detained by Russian authorities in March 2023 on espionage charges, an accusation he and U.S. officials have strong denied. His editors and the published of The Wall Street Journal have also adamantly denied and strongly condemned the allegations while demanding his release.

Gershkovich, 32, was convicted July 19 in a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.

Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, was arrested in December 2018 while traveling on an American passport in Russia and was also convicted of espionage.

He has previously said he felt “abandoned” after having been excluded from other prisoner exchanges in the past.

This is a developing story.