Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan have been released from jail in Russia.

The men were let go as part of a major prisoner swap with Moscow, said to involve around 20 to 30 political prisoners.

Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March 2023 on espionage charges that the United States says are illegitimate. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.

Whelan, 54, has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 and was sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2020 on spying charges.

The US has denied he was ever involved in espionage operations. 

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been released from prison in Russia

Former US marine Paul Whelan has also been released as part of the major prisoner swap

 Four Russians detained in the US on charges including cyber crime, smuggling and money laundering are thought to be part of the exchange.

The Moscow Times reported the individuals disappeared from the federal inmates’ database in America. 

Speculation that a prisoner swap was imminent was raised by Slovenian broadcaster, N1 Slovenia, earlier this week.

The reports cited an exchange including the US, Germany, Russia and Belarus.

If claims of up to 30 prisoners being exchanged are true, it would be the largest prisoner swap between the United States and Russia since the end of the Cold War. 

According to the anonymous source cited by the Moscow Times, Russian authorities have made ‘great efforts to keep the information inside Russia as much a secret as possible until the last moment.’

The developments came as recently as Wednesday, when Kremlin military aircraft reportedly flew to isolated regions in Russia where political prisoners are being held.

This is a breaking story please check back for updates….