US Reporter Freed by Russia in Multi-Country Prisoner Swap

Russia is releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan as part of a major prisoner swap with the US, according to people familiar with the situation.

The men, jailed in Russia on espionage charges they and the US deny, are en route to destinations outside of Russia.

The US and its allies will return prisoners to Russia that they hold under the deal, the people said, asking for anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t yet public.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March of last year while on a reporting assignment in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and accused of spying for the CIA.

He and the newspaper rejected the accusations.

He was convicted last month, the first time since the Cold War that Russia had put a US reporter on trial for espionage.

Whelan, who was detained in 2018, was sentenced to 16 years in 2020 on spying charges he denied.