President Joe Biden participates in a phone call with Quint leaders Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Monday, October 9, 2023, in the Oval Office of the White House. ( Photo by Adam Schultz)

The United States and Russia have reached an agreement for the release of journalist Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian prisons. In exchange, the U.S. will release individuals of interest to Russia.

Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested at the Hotel Metropol in Moscow on December 28, 2018. Russian authorities accused him of receiving a USB drive containing sensitive security information and subsequently charged him with espionage on January 3, 2019. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Pavlovic Today. Credentialed at the White House, the U.S. Senate Press Gallery and the State Department. Pavlovic was a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Fellow in the Political...