The key figure in the historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West is FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for the murder of Chechen commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
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American media reported that US Vice President Kamala Harris privately pressured German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding this part of the exchange.
The German government did not take this decision lightly. The state’s interest in the execution of a convicted criminal’s sentence was weighed against the freedom, physical well-being and, in some cases, the lives of innocent people imprisoned in Russia, those who were unjustly subjected to political persecution, Scholz said after the exchange.
The Wall Street Journal notes that White House officials, American diplomats and CIA officers have been negotiating with countries in Europe and the Middle East that are willing to release imprisoned Russian spies in exchange for Americans held in Russia.
At the center of the agreement was former FSB Colonel Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence for the murder of a former Chechen commander in Germany. It is suspected that it was committed on the orders of the Russian authorities. The publication notes that Putin has been seeking Krasikov’s dismissal since 2021.
Senior Russian intelligence officials made it clear that without him there would be no deal. Eventually, German officials agreed, demanding a dozen Russian prisoners, the WSJ writes.
Also, according to the publication, Biden called the Prime Minister of Slovenia an hour before announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race. The country facilitated the exchange and provided two convicted Russian spies. Also, CIA Director Burns visited Turkey last week to finalize the logistics of the exchange.
Rakurs reported earlier that the United States, European countries, Russia and Belarus exchanged 26 people.
According to reports from Turkey, which participated in the process, ten people, including two minors, went to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the United States.
We went to Europe and the USA:
- Evan Gershkovich (correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, “accused” of espionage);
- Paul Whelan (former US Marine “accused” of espionage);
- Rico Krieger (a German citizen, a former fighter of the Kalinovsky regiment, sentenced to death in Belarus);
- Kevin Lik (schoolboy, citizen of Germany and the Russian Federation, “accused” of espionage);
- Patrick Schebel (a German citizen, “accused” of attempting to import marijuana-laced candies into the Russian Federation);
- German Moyzhes (lawyer, managing partner of the Avers Germania group of companies, which provided assistance to Russians in obtaining GNP in Europe, was “accused” of treason in Russia);
- Demuri (Dieter) Voronin (a citizen of Russia and Germany, “accused” of treason for passing information about Russian military personnel in Syria to a university in Zurich);
- Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov (Russian oppositionists convicted for their anti-war position);
- Oleg Orlov (co-founder of the human rights center Memorial, convicted for his anti-war position);
- Sasha Skochilenko (Russian artist, convicted for her anti-war position);
- Alsu Kurmasheva (journalist for the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty, convicted for her anti-war position);
- Liliya Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva and Vadim Ostanin (coordinators of Navalny’s headquarters were convicted).
Returning to Russia:
- Vadim Krasikov (an FSB special forces officer involved in political assassinations, convicted in Germany for the murder of Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili);
- Vladislav Klyushin (a contractor for Russian security ministries, convicted in the US for insider stock trading);
- Alexander Vinnik (IT specialist convicted in the US for laundering $4 billion through crypto exchanges);
- Maxim Marchenko and Vadim Konoshchenko (convicted of evading US sanctions against Russia);
- Roman Seleznev (cyber fraudster convicted in the USA);
- Artem and Anna Dultsev (convicted in Slovenia for espionage);
- Mikhail Mikushin (a researcher at the University of Tromsø in Norway, convicted of espionage);
-
Pavel (Pablo) Rubtsov (Spanish journalist of Russian origin, convicted in Poland for espionage and cooperation with the GRU of the Russian Federation).
Joe Biden published a photo of the fired Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmashova and Paul Whelan.
After incredible torment and uncertainty, Americans detained in Russia are safe and free and on their way home to be met by their families, according to a photo posted on US President Joe Biden’s social media account.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.