Russia will release Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Hershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan as part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. The prisoners, both convicted of espionage, are expected to return to the U.S. on Thursday, according to a report. Bloomberg.
Gershkovich was arrested in late March 2023 while reporting in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Paul Whelan was arrested in 2018 in Moscow.
The release is part of a widely discussed prisoner swap involving several high-profile inmates.
The Kremlin has declined to comment on the upcoming prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said he had “no comments on this matter.”