All three Americans released in the historic prisoner exchange on Thursday will undergo medical evaluations in San Antonio before going home.
Wall Street Reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were among the 24 people freed in the largest U.S.-Russia prisoner swap since the Cold War, officials said.
All three Americans will board a flight to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for a medical evaluation and “whatever care they need for as long as they need,” a U.S. official told CNN.
Gershkovich had been wrongfully detained in Moscow since March 2023 on espionage charges, as well as Whelan, who had been imprisoned since 2018. Kurmasheva had been convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military — all charges they and the U.S. have denied.
According to CNN, Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva will be greeted by their families, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before heading to San Antonio.
In December, WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo a medical evaluation when she arrived in the U.S. following a prisoner exchange with Russia in 2022. The two-time Olympic gold medalist had been sentenced to nine years for drug possession and smuggling.
