American prisoners set to arrive at Joint Base Andrews after historic exchange deal

Live from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Washington DC, as three American prisoners released from Russia, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, arrive on Friday, August 2.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to host a welcome reception for the prisoners.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 30, 2023, in Yekaterinburg, accused of collecting state secret information on the Russian military-industrial complex, allegations he denies.

Previously in the US Marine Corps, Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow on December 28, 2018. Following an investigation, he was charged with espionage in favour of the US intelligence services after a flash drive found in his possession contained classified information.

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced to six and a half years in a Russian penal colony in October after being deemed a 'foreign agent' for conducting a "targeted collection of military information about Russian activities."