Details of the High-Profile Prisoner Swap
The recently convicted assassin, Vadim Krasikov, who played a crucial role in the largest prisoner exchange in decades, has been confirmed as a member of Russia’s most powerful security agency. This revelation came from the Kremlin on Friday, emphasizing Mr. Krasikov’s past service in a special unit alongside agents who currently provide protection for President Vladimir V. Putin.
This connection sheds light on Mr. Putin’s fervent commitment to securing the release of Krasikov, who had been serving a sentence in a German prison for murder. The culmination of these efforts was marked on Thursday when Krasikov, along with seven other former prisoners, returned to Moscow as part of a complex exchange involving a total of 24 adults across seven nations.
In a significant admission, this exchange marked the first time the Kremlin publicly acknowledged Krasikov’s affiliation with the Federal Security Service, known as the F.S.B. This agency, which is the successor to the Soviet K.G.B., was where Mr. Putin began his career. Furthermore, the F.S.B. played a pivotal role in the negotiations with the C.I.A. regarding the prisoner swap, as confirmed by Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin.
Mr. Putin has openly expressed his admiration for Krasikov, who had been incarcerated in Germany since 2019 for the high-profile murder of a Chechen former separatist fighter in Berlin. In a notable interview earlier this year, Mr. Putin referred to Krasikov as “a patriot,” commending him for fulfilling his duty by eliminating an adversary of the Russian state.
Upon the arrival of the freed prisoners at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow at approximately 10:30 PM on Thursday, President Putin warmly embraced Krasikov, who was the first to step off the plane. The moment was captured in a photograph released by Russian state media, depicting President Putin welcoming the Russians who were part of this significant prisoner swap with Western nations.
