US journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan were released from Russia on Thursday, as confirmed by the Turkish government, marking one of the largest East-West prisoner swaps since the Cold War.

This significant exchange, facilitated by Turkey's MIT intelligence service, involved 26 individuals from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Belarus, and Russia.

Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained in Russia in March 2023 on spying charges.

Additionally, the swap included Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen imprisoned in Germany.

Signs of the swap had emerged earlier on Thursday when a plane used in a previous exchange landed in Kaliningrad.

President Joe Biden had been advocating for Gershkovich's release, and media rights groups like Reporters Without Borders have expressed relief.

This is the first such exchange since Brittney Griner was swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.