The State Department said Russia rejected a "significant offer" to exchange Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, accused of spying
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"In recent weeks, we made a new and significant offer to release Paul and Evan. That offer was rejected by Russia. We should not have made those offers. They should never have been arrested in the first place. They both should have been released immediately," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
He declined to disclose details of the U.S. offer, but said authorities would continue to do everything possible to free Whelan and Gershkovich.
In late October, CNN, citing a State Department source, wrote that the U.S. had made a "serious offer" to release Whelan. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had not received any new prisoner exchange proposals.
Former Marine Paul Whelan was detained in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich has been in pre-trial detention since March of this year, he is also accused of espionage.
Memorial to the fallen Moldovan soldiers of the Transnistrian War in Chisinau. Photo: Alexander Moisseenko
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Memorial to the fallen Moldovan soldiers of the Transnistrian War in Chisinau. Photo: Alexander Moisseenko
Thirty-three years ago, a ceasefire brought an end to the Transnistrian War—sometimes described by locals as the Russian-Moldovan War. Although the tensions officially ended in 1992, its consequences continue to shape Moldovan politics, society, and security — especially in view of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Russian capital faced one of the largest terrorist attacks in its history. The terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, which claimed the lives of many innocent people, was the second largest after the Beslan tragedy. But unlike previous attacks, this incident is shrouded in a layer of contradictory facts and ambiguities that point to possible miscalculations by the Russian security services
