Paul Whelan reveals the moment he was released from Russia felt ‘real’

Former US Marine Paul Whelan has revealed how gaining freedom from a Russian prison felt “real” to him – joking that now that he is back on American soil he is ready for some “medicinal” alcohol.

Whelan, 54, disembarked from Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field in Texas around 3 a.m. Friday along with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, according to KSAT.

The trio and their families were under the care of U.S. hostage envoy Roger Carstens, who guided them through the reintegration process, CNN said. That will include various tests at a state-of-the-art Defense Department hospital in Houston.

“It didn’t feel real until we were flying over England,” Whelan said of his release in a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West on Thursday.

Whelan was arrested in Moscow in late December 2018 on espionage charges. He was found guilty in a closed-door trial and spent nearly six years in a remote penal colony.

“When we were flying over England and I looked down, that’s when it became real,” Whelan said of his first hours of freedom.

Whelan was born in Ottawa to British parents of Irish descent. He holds Canadian, American, British and Irish citizenship.

Whelan said his family’s frequent “harsh words” at the government had made them “hold them accountable to looking after us”.

Here’s the latest on former Russian prisoner Evan Gershkovich

“Getting off the plane and seeing the president, the vice president, it was nice. It was a good homecoming,” he added of his first moments on American soil at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

The national security chief, who once pleaded with President Biden to “pull himself together” and secure his release, showed off a flag pin given to him by the president, which he described as a “souvenir.”

He enthusiastically pointed to the box that held the iPad, noting that the Russian Federal Security Service had stolen his “iPad and iPhone, so this is a replacement so I can be normal again.”

The former Marine also showed off a bag containing a bottle of alcohol, which he joked was intended for “medicinal purposes.”

Whelan, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and their relatives posed for photos on a common base with the flag of hostages and illegally detained.

“That’s us down here. Those last three, that’s us,” Whelan said, pointing to the last three dots on the flag.

After the photo shoot, Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva were scheduled to undergo medical examinations at Brooke Army Medical Center, Carstens explained.

“It’s so great to welcome you here to our shared base. The next stage of your journey begins now,” Carstens told the group.

According to the San Antonio-Express News, it is standard procedure for the U.S. government to admit former prisoners of war, hostages and other people released from foreign custody for counseling and recovery at a military hospital.

Former prisoners who have completed the reintegration program include Paul Rusesabagina, who was imprisoned by the Rwandan government for more than two years, Private Travis King, who was held in North Korea, and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was also released from Russia in 2022.

A total of 24 prisoners were exchanged in Thursday’s exchange, the largest prisoner swap between countries since the Cold War.

Gershkovich spent 16 months behind bars in Russia, where he was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges while on a reporting trip. Kurmasheva, a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in October 2023 for failing to register as a foreign agent.