Why Did Paul Whelan Go to Russia? The U.S. Marine Veteran Was Arrested in December 2018
"Paul was just a tourist who was trying to help a friend, and he seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Published Aug. 1 2024, 1:04 p.m. ET
On Aug. 1, 2024, NBC News reported that three Americans and one permanent U.S. resident were freed from a Russian prison in what is being described as the "biggest prisoner exchanges since the Cold War — a feat of dogged diplomacy that involved half a dozen countries and took months to pull off." One of those prisoners is U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who was arrested and charged with espionage in December 2018.
Since that time, Whelan has suffered many losses. While he was in prison, several relatives as well as his family dog and cat have passed away. He was also very worried about his parents, who are both over the age of 80. The fact that he was released feels like nothing short of a miracle. This begs the question, why did Paul Whelan go to Russia in the first place? Here's what we know.
Why did Paul Whelan go to Russia?
Whelan's twin brother David Whelan told the Detroit Free Press this brother went to Russia in order to help a friend and fellow Marine with his wedding. "He loves to travel and he’s been to Russia on both personal visits and for work," said David. "And the friend asked if Paul could come and help because his family was going to Russia and hadn’t had a lot of experience there. Paul was there to help people tour the buildings and get around what can be a difficult country to navigate."
The plan was to help his pal out for a few days then pop over to St. Petersburg before heading home to Michigan on Jan. 6, 2019. Whelan arrived on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018, and by Tuesday, David was tweeting about his brother's detainment. What initially tipped David off was the lack of communication from his brother, which was out of character. In particular, he knew Whelan would have checked in regarding their family dog's recent trip to the vet.
The statement David tweeted out concluded with, "We are deeply concerned for his safety and well-being. His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected." The espionage accusations might have stemmed from the fact that since 2017, Whelan was employed at BorgWarner, an auto supplier, as their director of global security. Davis insisted that, "Paul was just a tourist who was trying to help a friend, and he seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."
