Moscow: In a dramatic revelation, the Kremlin disclosed on Friday that a family of Russian sleeper agents, part of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, learned of their Russian identity only after their flight to Moscow had departed.
“Before that, they didn’t know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that when the children disembarked the plane, they did not speak Russian, and President Vladimir Putin greeted them in Spanish, saying “buenas noches.”
Details of the Swap
Peskov provided additional details about the swap, confirming that Vadim Krasikov, a hitman released by Germany, was an employee of Russia’s FSB security service and had served in its Alpha Group special forces unit. Krasikov was convicted in Germany for the 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in Berlin. Upon his arrival in Moscow on Thursday evening, Krasikov, dressed in a baseball cap and tracksuit, was the first to disembark and was warmly greeted by Putin, underscoring his significance to Moscow.
Among the other freed individuals were the Dultsevs, a husband and wife who were convicted in Slovenia for posing as Argentinians to spy. They returned to Russia with their two children. Peskov revealed that while in custody, the couple had limited access to their children and feared losing parental rights. “The children asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them (in Moscow). They didn’t even know who Putin was. This is how the ‘illegals’ work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to their work,” Peskov said.
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Ongoing Efforts and Reactions
Peskov noted that Russian government agencies are continuing efforts to secure the release of other Russians abroad. The prisoner exchange was negotiated by the FSB and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Putin’s decision to personally greet the returnees on the tarmac was described as “a tribute to people who serve their country and who after very difficult trials, and thanks to the hard work of many people, have been able to return to the Motherland.”
The swap involved 24 prisoners in total: 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight from the West to Russia. Those released by Moscow included U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who also holds British citizenship. Despite Russia releasing more prisoners than it received, the swap was portrayed by Russian authorities as a victory and was well received by many in Moscow.
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“I am not remotely political, but any way you look at it: any exchange is wonderful, that our Russian comrades returned to the motherland,” said Zulfia, a Moscow resident.
Andrei Lugovoi, a former spy wanted by Britain for the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive poison and now leading an ultranationalist faction in the Russian Duma, commented on Telegram: “Our people are at home with their families. And for each of them it is no pity to hand over a bunch of foreign agent scum.”
When asked if the prisoner swap indicated a potential compromise on Ukraine, Peskov stated that the situations were unrelated and that diplomatic efforts regarding Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine were being conducted on “different principles”.
