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Inside the Gershkovich Prisoner Swap Crisis

Despite Biden’s public commitment to bring Evan home, the people tasked with making it happen worry privately that Moscow hasn’t made clear what it wants in return for his freedom.

Administration officials say that Moscow appears to be in absolutely no mood to negotiate.
Administration officials say that Moscow appears to be in absolutely no mood to negotiate. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev via Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
May 3, 2023

At Saturday evening’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, President Joe Biden demanded the release of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is now awaiting trial on espionage charges in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison. From the podium, the president also acknowledged Mikhail Gershkovich and Ella Milman, Evan’s parents, as well as Evan’s sister, Danielle, and her husband, who were guests of the Journal.