The plane carrying the released prisoners landed at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews airport at 6:38 a.m. Finnish time.
The Americans freed in the big prisoner exchange between Russia and the West have arrived home.
In the United States, the prisoners released in the prisoner exchange are in Maryland, at Joint Base Andrews Airport, opposite the president Joe Biden and Vice President Terrible Harris as well as family members of released prisoners.
Among the prisoners released from Russia to the United States is, for example, an American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Gershkovich’s family expressed their relief and gratitude to the Biden administration after he was released on Thursday.
– We have been waiting for Evan’s release for 491 days, and it is difficult to describe how this day feels. We can’t wait to hug him.
The Gershkovich family went on to say that no family should have to go through this.
– Today we share relief and joy with the families of Paul and Alsu, Gershkovich’s family said in their release in the statement referring to two other American prisoners released from Russia.
Also a former US Marine Paul Whelan is among the released prisoners. In addition, a Russian opposition politician can enter the United States in a prisoner exchange Vladimir Kara-Murza and a US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
On Thursday, Biden met with the families of the prisoners to be released in the prisoner exchange at the White House. He surprised the American-Russian journalist who turns 13 today Alsu Kurmasheva filial Miriam’s singing a congratulatory song to him.
On Thursday, Biden released a photo of the prisoners released to the United States, in which they are leaving for their trip home from Ankara, Turkey.
On Thursday, Russia and Western countries carried out a large prisoner exchange, which was coordinated by Turkey. It is an exceptionally large prisoner exchange operation, characterized as the largest since the Cold War.
A total of 24 prisoners were released in the prisoner exchange.
In addition to the United States and Russia, Belarus, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway are participating in the prisoner exchange.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “Touching”
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz says that all those released to Germany in the prisoner exchange have arrived safely. Many of them had not expected to be released, Scholz said.
The Chancellor said that he had a long discussion with people released from Russian prisons in a large prisoner exchange.
Scholz described the meeting as very touching.
“Many of them were afraid for their health and even their lives,” Scholz told reporters, according to the Reuters news agency.
– This is a special moment. All have arrived safe and sound. In detailed discussions with those released, many have said that even they did not expect to be released. They are shocked that they are suddenly free, Scholz said on the messaging service X.
A total of 12 prisoners were released to Germany, among whom were German citizens and representatives of the Russian opposition. Among others, an opposition politician arrived in Germany Ilya Yashin and human rights activist Oleg Orlov.
Russia is facing Putin
The Russian citizens involved in the prisoner exchange landed in Moscow late Thursday, a little before eleven in the evening Finnish time.
According to Reuters, this was reported by Russian news agencies. A red carpet and the President of Russia awaited the released prisoners on the field Vladimir Putin.
Among the eight prisoners who returned to Russia was also an FSB assassin Vadim Krasikovwho was sentenced to life imprisonment of Chechen origin of Zelimhan Hankošvili of a hit-and-run in a Berlin park in August 2019.
Germany said the decision to release Krasikov was not easy.