Russia, the United States and several other countries on Thursday were engaged in an extraordinary, 24-prisoner exchange, the largest of its kind since the Cold War and one in which President Joe Biden was directly involved, the White House said Thursday.
The swap allows the two wrongfully detained American citizens held by Moscow -- Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan -- to return home.
Shortly before noon Thursday, Gershkovich and Whelan had been freed and were on their way back to the U.S., Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The multipart deal is the product of months of detailed, painstaking negotiations, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
"Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over," Biden said in a statement.
President Biden spoke out about the prisoner exchange Thursday morning. Watch the full speech in the video player below:
"This is a very good afternoon," Biden said not long after in remarks at the White House, surrounded by family members of those freed. "Moments ago, the families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. They're out of Russia."
Asked by a reporter what he told them, Biden responded, smiling, "I said, 'Welcome almost home.'"
The exchange also frees Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, and Vladimir Kara-Muza, a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
"The president is gathering the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House to share with them the news that an exchange is underway to secure the release of their loved ones from Russia," Sullivan told reporters on Thursday morning.
According to a senior administration official, Biden was monitoring the situation "in near real time" through updates from his national security team, and will stay plugged in throughout the day.
The official also hoped to have the families connect with their loved ones on the airplane.
