Russia is set to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and others in the largest Russia-West exchange since the Cold War. 

The Details: Both Gershkovich and Whelan were convicted on espionage charges. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting on a trip to the city of Yekaterinburg and sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison last month. Whelan was arrested in December 2018 when he was traveling in Russia to attend a friend's wedding. Gershkovich and Whelan have denied any allegations of espionage. Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced to 6 1/2 half years in prison last month, charged with spreading false information about the Russian army. Biden and Harris will join the families of the three Americans as they are reunited tonight.

For Context: The prisoner swap involves 24 prisoners held in Russia, the U.S., Germany and three other Western countries. Eight Russian nationals are expected to be returned to Russia in one of the largest Russia-West exchanges in history and the first between Russia and the U.S. since Russia freed U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout in 2022.

How the Media Covered It: Across the political spectrum, outlets highlighted the chilling effect of Gershkovich's detainment on journalism and quoted from those involved in efforts to bring him back to the United States.