Ex-Marine Paul Whelan Speaks Out Upon His Release After 2,043 Days in Russian Captivity: ‘Never Going Back There’

"I'm glad I'm home," Whelan told reporters

Ex-Marine Paul Whelan never wants to go back to Russia.

On Friday, Aug. 2, Whelan, 54, spoke to reporters about his experience in Russian captivity for 2,043 days — which is the equivalent of nearly six years. Whelan was born in Canada and holds U.S., U.K., Irish and Canadian citizenship, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1994 to 2008.

Whelan criticized the "nonsense narrative [the Russian government] came up with" after he was accused of espionage in December 2018, reports ABC News. He also weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"So, you know, this is how Putin runs his government. This is how Putin runs his country. Yeah, I'm glad I'm home. Yeah. I'm never going back there again," he said with a smile.

Related: Paul Whelan, Imprisoned in Russia Since 2018, Is 'Disappointed' in U.S. Efforts to Secure His Release

On Thursday, Aug. 1, Whelan arrived on American soil with fellow former detainees Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva.

The trio were released as part of the largest prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia since the end of the Cold War. Both Whelan and Gershkovich, 32 — a reporter for the Wall Street Journal — had been imprisoned for spying. Kurmasheva, 47, is a Russian-American journalist who was detained in October 2023 after Russian officials accused her of being a "foreign agent."

Their family members and loved ones were there to greet them, alongside President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

According to Whelan, Biden, 81, gave him an American flag pin, which he wore while speaking to reporters on Friday at Joint Base San Antonio. "It's a keepsake,” he said.

"I just say thank you to everybody. You know, thank you for all your prayers, your your, you know, good wishes. Thanks for doing everything you did," he continued.

Biden also told reporters that keeping his word to free American citizens was an important promise to see through.

"I would get this done even if I was seeking a second term. You're stuck with me as president for a while, kid, there's no way out, okay," he said. "You got me for at least another 100 — 90 days or so. So it had to do with that. It had to do with the opportunity trying to convince one last country to say okay, they'll step up."

Related: Brittney Griner Hoped Paul Whelan Would Be Released with Her: 'No One Should Be Left Behind'

WNBA star Brittney Griner also shared her gratitude for the prisoners' release. Griner was detained in Russia in February 2022, when authorities alleged that she had vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage when she arrived in Moscow to play for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg.

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The Olympic athlete, 33, was sentenced to nine years in prison, but she was freed in a prisoner exchange 10 months later.

"I am head over heels happy for the families right now. Any day that Americans come home, that’s a win," Griner told The New York Times on Thursday.

“I’m just happy,” she continued. “Like this is a big win, huge win.”

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