After 16 months in a Russian prison, Evan Gershkovich was released Thursday in the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, orchestrated by the Biden administration.

Almost two weeks ago, Biden announced to the world he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. But just before he made that decision, the president made a call to his Slovenian counterpart urging them to make final arrangements to get the historic prisoner exchange over the line. 

That swap included Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, along with legal permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza. In exchange, Vladamir Putin insisted his hit man Vadim Krasikov, be released back to Russia. 

Krasikov used the cover name Vadim Sokolov and was convicted by a German court for the 2019 assassination of a former Chechen commander near Berlin’s parliamentary building. He was in German custody.

President Biden had to convince German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to ultimately agree to Krasikov’s release. The government of Turkey facilitated the transfer of the prisoners. 

 ‘I don’t think anybody here on the US side has a full, complete, contextual picture of why Krasikov was treated with the priority that he was by the Russian side,’ a senior administration official told Fox News. 

‘I mean look, FSB [Federal Security Service] connection, paid assassin, ordered by the Russian Government to conduct the assassinations that he did… this is a bad dude, and a member of the Russian intelligence services. They obviously considered him an asset and wanted him back, and it was no small thing for the German government to let him go,’ the official said.  

‘Lots of tough calls throughout this exchange and certainly Krasikov was one of the tougher calls leaders had to make,’ another official said. 

‘This deal would not have been made possible without our allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. They all stepped up and they stood with us,’ Biden said at the White House Thursday.  ‘They stood with us, and they made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries who were justifiably being helped and provided logistical support to get the Americans home. So for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter.’

Sullivan in a press briefing Thursday confirmed that no money or sanctions were part of the exchange. 

When asked if the historic prisoner exchange would incentivize hostile countries to arrest more Americans, Sullivan said, ‘It’s a question that we grapple with every time that we look at the hard decisions involved in one of these exchanges.’ 

‘It is difficult to send back a convicted criminal to secure the release of an innocent American. And yet, sometimes the choice is between doing that and consigning that person basically to live out their days in prison in a hostile foreign country, or in the hands of a hostile power. So, from our perspective, we have assessed and analyzed that risk, and we have judged that the benefit of reuniting Americans and bringing people home, and also of vindicating the idea that the American president and the American government are going to do what it takes to protect and secure the release of innocent Americans, that that benefit outweighs the risk. And that’s how we proceeded,’ Sullivan said. 

The White House on Thursday announced new defensive military deployments to help Israel defend itself against Iran and its proxies. 

A brief statement on the matter came in a readout of a phone call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vice President Kamala Harris also joined the call. 

Both leaders discussed efforts for Israel to defend itself against Iran and Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. 

‘The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments,’ the statement said. 

During the call, Biden stressed the ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region. 

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have heightened in recent weeks following back-and-forth airstrikes. 

On Thursday, Natanyahu said those who attack his country will ay a ‘very high price’ after confirming that Israel killed top Hezbollah and Hamas commanders in recent strikes.

‘Israel is in a state of very high readiness for any scenario — on both defense and offense,’ Netanyahu said. ‘We will exact a very high price for any act of aggression against us from any quarter whatsoever.’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said Venezuelan President the opposition, not socialist and Hugo Chavez successor Nicolás Maduro, won the country’s presidential election. Maduro has claimed victory and threatened the opposition since July 28, sparking widespread protests.

‘Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,’ Blinken said. 

Maduro is widely believed to have lost before declaring victory, and numerous regional governments have cast doubt on the results. 

Government officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been trying to convince Maduro’s administration that he must show the vote tally sheets from Sunday’s election and allow impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told the Associated Press on Thursday. Doing so would dispel any doubt about the results, the official said. Argentina’s newly elected libertarian President Javier Milei has called for the anti-Maduro protests to continue.

On Wednesday, Maduro asked Venezuela’s highest court to conduct an audit of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review.

Polls taken over the course of the summer consistently showed opposition candidate Edmundo González winning by double-digit margins.

When the National Electoral Council, which is controlled by Maduro loyalists, announced around midnight that Maduro had received 51% of the vote compared to main opposition candidate González’s 44% support, council President Elvis Amoroso said the results were based on 80% of voting stations and represented an irreversible trend.

‘Meanwhile, the democratic opposition has published more than 80% of the tally sheets received directly from polling stations throughout Venezuela,’ Blinken said. ‘Those tally sheets indicate that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in this election by an insurmountable margin.’

‘The CNE’s rapid declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential election came with no supporting evidence,’ the State Department said Thursday. ‘In the days since the election, we have consulted widely with partners and allies around the world, and while countries have taken different approaches in responding, none have concluded that Nicolás Maduro received the most votes this election.’

Since the election, protesters have taken to the streets to voice anger at the results, prompting a heavy-handed response by authorities in some instances. Blinken called for authorities to protect opposition leaders like González and María Corina Machado, the release of protesters who were arrested, and for the peaceful transition of power.

‘Now is the time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law and the wishes of the Venezuelan people,’ Blinken said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ returned to the top spot as the No. 1 bestselling book in the U.S. this week — and sources close to the campaign told Fox News Digital it shows that voters are interested in getting to know former President Trump’s running mate.

Vance’s memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ which was originally published in June 2016, reclaimed the top spot on major bestseller lists this week, including The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly and USA Today. 

A film adaption of the memoir, released in 2020, also has seen an uptick in viewership since Trump named Vance his running mate. The film has shot up to the No. 9 spot on Netflix’s list of top 10 movies. A source familiar told Fox News Digital that viewers have watched nearly six million hours of the film. 

Vance’s commercial success comes as pundits and many on the left have criticized him in recent days about a 2021 comment he made about women without children. 

But a source close to the Trump campaign said the renewed success of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ just shows that ‘everyday Americans are rushing to get copies of his personal memoir to get to know the man based on his own words — without any media filter.’ 

‘The mainstream media has been pulling their hair out, insisting JD Vance had a historically bad week on the campaign trail,’ said a source close to the Trump campaign. ‘In reality, millions of people who have completely lost faith in the media have rushed to buy copies of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ or gathered with their family to watch the movie at home.’ 

More recently, Vance has dealt with headaches as an interview from 2021 resurfaced, in which he said, ‘We are effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too.’

He then specifically called out Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as being part of this group in that interview.

This week, the Harris campaign and various other prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, actress Jennifer Aniston and others, blasted Vance, accusing him of devaluing women that don’t have children or can’t have them under normal circumstances. 

Vance has said Democrats have taken his comments ‘out of context and blow it out of proportion, which is what they always do because they don’t have an agenda to run on themselves.’ 

A Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital that ‘the leftwing media have twisted Senator Vance’s words and spun up a false narrative about his position on the issues.’ 

‘As he clearly stated, he was talking about politicians on the left who support policies that are explicitly anti-child and anti-family,’ Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said. ‘The media can obsess over it all they want, but he’s not going to back down when it comes to advocating for policies that protect parental rights and encourage people to have more kids.’ 

Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita also defended Vance, saying the critics are being ‘absolutely absurd.’ 

‘We’re about fighting for the working women of the United States, the forgotten people of the middle class. JD Vance is the perfect representation of that,’ LaCivita told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. ‘They know it. It scares the hell out of them… They’re going to peddle in fiction and we’re going to have to deal with it as we go forward.’

President Biden has called the prisoner swap deal with Russia Thursday that secured the release of The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others a ‘feat of diplomacy.’

‘Moments ago, the families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. They’re out of Russia. Earlier today, they were flown to Turkey, and soon they’ll be wheels up on their way home to see their families,’ Biden said during an address from the White House. ‘This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here. It’s a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country who’ve been praying for this day for a long time.’

‘The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship. Multiple countries help get this done,’ Biden added. ‘They joined a difficult, complex negotiation at my request. And I personally thank them all again.’

‘All told, Russia has released 16 prisoners. Eight Russians who were being held in the West will be sent home as well. The 16 prisoners from Russia that Russia has released include four Americans, five Germans, seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country,’ Biden continued.

The president said earlier in a statement released by the White House that ‘three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza.’

Biden said ‘Russian authorities arrested them, convicted them in show trials and sentenced them to long prison terms with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever. None.’

‘Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,’ Biden also said.

‘I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome — including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer,’ Biden continued.  

‘And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family,’ he added. 

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. The Biden administration declared him ‘wrongfully detained’ and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face. 

Whelan had languished in Russian custody for years. A well-placed source told Fox News that Turkish intelligence officials played a key role in mediating the prisoner swap.  

The last time Russia exchanged prisoners with the U.S. was December 2022, when it freed basketball player Brittney Griner in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for smuggling and possessing cannabis. Like in Gershkovich’s case, Griner’s harsh sentence was viewed as Russia effectively taking an American hostage to obtain leverage over the U.S. 

Biden said Thursday during his speech that ‘It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free Americans who are unjustly held around the world. 

‘It also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners. They stood up for democracy and human rights. Their own leaders shoot them in prison. The United States helped secure their release as well. That’s who we are in the United States,’ he added. ‘We stand for freedom and liberty, for justice, not only for our own people, but for others as well. And that’s why all Americans can take pride in what we’ve achieved today.’

Fox News’ David Rutz, Brian Flood and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.

A top Republican warned on Thursday that the Biden administration’s choice to trade Russian criminals for detained Americans – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan – could be sending a ‘dangerous message’ to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, joined others in celebrating the releases, saying he was ‘thrilled’ to hear the detained Americans were coming home.

‘But I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime,’ he added. 

He further stressed, ‘We should also not forget those Americans who may still be held in Russia, like Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, as well as those held in other countries, including Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin, who are held in China, and Ryan Corbett, who is held in Afghanistan. We must get all of them home to their families too.’

A senior administration official told Fox News on Thursday that the U.S. and Russia agreed to a prisoner transfer and the prisoners are now expected to soon be in U.S. custody. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, expressed his own relief at the planned release of Gershkovich and Whelan ‘after years of wrongful detention in Russia.’

‘The baseless charges, sham trials, and unjust imprisonment of these men is a stark reminder of Russia’s blatant disregard for human rights and its continued oppression of innocent Americans,’ he said. 

In a joint statement, the Pennsylvania congressional delegation, including Democratic Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, as well as Republican Reps. Mike Kelly and Guy Reschenthaler and Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio, pushed the administration to include Fogel. 

‘As news of a potential prisoner exchange is being reported, we urge that any swap include Pennsylvania’s Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich,’ they said. 

‘Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible. As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel.’

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, q Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, where Whelan is from, responded to the news on X, writing, ‘I’m so grateful to hear that Paul Whelan is finally coming home to Michigan! This great news is long, long overdue, but will hopefully bring peace to the Whelan family who’s been through unimaginable pain these past few years thanks to Russia’s egregious actions.’