(NewsNation) — Friends of American journalist Evan Gershkovich are making plans to see him when he returns to the United States after spending more than a year in Russian detention.
Gershkovich’s former classmate from Princeton High School in New Jersey told NewsNation they’ve been closely monitoring his situation since he was wrongfully imprisoned on espionage charges 16 months ago.
Their tight-knit group of friends say they’re ecstatic now that Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been freed. His release Thursday was part of the biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history.
Moscow released Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free.
After receiving weekly updates since his arrest, one of Gershkovich’s friends said she was in disbelief Wednesday upon learning that a prisoner swap might be possible.
When the news became official Thursday, she had full body chills and instant tears of gratitude, she said.
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FILE – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, left, stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the First Appeals Court of General Jurisdiction in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Arrests on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Recent high-profile arrests include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges in March 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) -
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 01: U.S. President Joe Biden, holding hands with Miriam Butorin, daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, and joined by relatives of prisoners freed by Russia, delivers remarks on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian captivity, in the State Dining Room at the White House on August 01, 2024 in Washington, DC. The two, along with Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and Radio Free Europe journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist, and others were released in a prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) -
Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul Whelan, an American who has been detained in Russia for more than four years, stands in the gallery upon request from current speaker Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council headed by Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, serving as president of the council, Monday, April 24, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Whelan’s friends and family have shared similar sentiments.
They released a statement thanking the administrations of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the U.S. embassy and many of the Americans who wrote to and donated to him while he was in prison.
“Paul Whelan is free. Our family is grateful to the United States government for making Paul’s freedom a reality,” the statement read. “Paul Whelan is not in a Russian labor colony any longer, but he is not home. While Paul was wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, he lost his home. He lost his job. We are unsure how someone overcomes these losses and rejoins society after being a hostage. We are grateful for everyone’s efforts to help Paul while he was away.”
The trade unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Biden touted the exchange as a diplomatic feat, but some are concerned about the risk and reward in a swap this large.
“I think it’s illegitimate to swap innocent Americans for Russians who may include a KGB agent in Germany convicted of murder, among other things,” said John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United States. “The price for Americas is high; every time you make a deal like this, the price gets higher.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
