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Former Marine Paul Whelan Reflects On Realization Of Freedom After Russian Imprisonment

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(Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Mariane Angela News Reporter
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Former Marine Paul Whelan shares his feelings upon realizing his freedom after years of imprisonment in Russia.

Former Marine Whelan, alongside journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, returned to U.S. soil early Friday morning. The trio landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field in Texas, following their release in a historic multi-country prisoner exchange, according to KSAT. The release, which included 24 prisoners, is noted as the largest of its kind since the Cold War.

“It didn’t feel real until we were flying over England,” Whelan, who was imprisoned in Moscow in late Dec. 2018 on espionage charges, told reporters Thursday, New York Post reported. “As we came over England and I looked down, that’s when it became real.”

He spent nearly six years in a remote Russian penal colony before his release, New York Post reported. Upon touching down, U.S. hostage envoy Roger Carstens escorted the group and began their reintegration process. This includes comprehensive examinations at a top-tier Department of Defense hospital in Houston. (RELATED: Former US Marine Held In Russian Prison Tells Biden To ‘Man Up’ And Secure His Release)

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia, stands inside a defendants' cage during a hearing at a court in Moscow on January 22, 2019. (Photo credit MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia, stands inside a defendants’ cage during a hearing at a court in Moscow on January 22, 2019. (Photo credit MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)

After arriving in the U.S., Whelan expressed his relief and readiness to embrace normalcy, joking about needing some “medicinal” alcohol to celebrate. He was also presented with a flag lapel pin by President Joe Biden, New York Post stated. The returnees were welcomed with a photo session at the base, where Whelan pointed out their representation on the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Flag. “Those last three, that’s us,” he said, indicating the final three tally marks on the flag.

Medical evaluations at Brooke Army Medical Center are next for Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, as part of their ongoing recovery and reintegration process, according to the New York Post.