The Kremlin on Friday (Aug 2) said that Vadim Krasikov, freed by Germany in Thursday's prisoner swap deal with the West, is an operative with Russia's FSB security service.

The Kremlin on Friday (Aug 2) said that Vadim Krasikov, freed by Germany in Thursday's prisoner swap deal with the West, is an operative with Russia's FSB security service. Addressing a press conference, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "Krasikov is an FSB employee." Peskov added that Krasikov served with FSB's elite and secretive Alpha unit. Krasikov "served with some of the people working in the president's security detail," Peskov further told reporters. According to a report by the news agency AFP, an investigation by investigative journalism group Bellingcat revealed that Krasikov had links to the FSB. However, Friday's admission (by the Kremlin) was the first time Moscow has publicly confirmed he was an FSB agent. A life sentence in Germany Krasikov was serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a Chechen rebel commander in a Berlin park in 2019 — an assassination that German judges said was ordered by the Russian state. Also read | Freed Americans return home following historic prisoner swap; Biden, Harris greet them at airport The rebel commander was identified as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who had taken up arms against the Russian state in the early 1990s but since forsworn the armed Chechen independence struggle. On Thursday (Aug 1), Krasikov and nine other Russians were freed in the historic prisoner exchange that saw Moscow release American citizens including Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, along with a host of Russian dissidents and activists. Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the return of the Russian prisoners by saying the motherland never forgot about them. Germany played a key role in Thursday's prisoner swap between Moscow and the West. Relatives of Krasikov's victim slam his release Relatives of Khangoshvili voiced disappointment in Krasikov's release from prison. In a statement released by their lawyer, the Chechen rebel commander's relatives said, "On one hand we are glad that lives have been saved. But we are very disappointed that there are apparently no laws even in countries that put the rule of law on a pedestal." Also watch | 26 prisoners released in landmark exchange at Ankara airport × Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the decision had been difficult but necessary to save lives, a view echoed by Justice Minister Marco Buschman. (With inputs from agencies)

East-West prisoner swap: Kremlin says Vadim Krasikov, freed by Germany, is FSB operative

Moscow seeks the return of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman jailed in Germany for the assassination of a Chechen dissident. The Russian government wishes to return him as part of a prisoner swap.

Moscow seeks the return of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman jailed in Germany for the assassination of a Chechen dissident. The Russian government wishes to return him as part of a prisoner swap. The Krelim raised Vadim Krasikov's name in the recent negotiations with the Western officials. In exchange, they have offered the release of prisoners, including Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter accused of espionage and ex-US marine Paul Whelan, convicted of spying charges in 2020. He appeared on a Russian news channel a week ago. The former US Marine is serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia. The Biden administration claimed both men were innocent and their detention was politically motivated. The 58-year-old Russian assassin, Vadim Krasikov, received life imprisonment in December 2021 for the "state-ordered" assassination of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian national of Chechen heritage, in 2019. Krasikov shot him dead in a children's playground in Germany's Kleiner Tiergarten park. ALSO READ | India-Europe-Middle East Economic Corridor to change the face of the Middle East: Israel PM Khangoshvili allegedly led a 2004 raid by Chechens in which many security officials died. In 2012, Russia included his name in the 19 most wanted terrorists list, which it sent to other countries, including Germany. In 2016, Khangoshvili fled to Germany from Georgia. Although Germany rejected his "protection from arrest" appeal, he could still stay in the country. Krasikov travelled to Germany on a false passport in the name of Vadim Sokolov, as per the Telegraph. After the assassination, the authorities caught him trying to escape on an electric scooter after tossing a bike and gun in the River Spree and changing his disguise. Police convicted him as they found his fingerprints and DNA on the dumped objects. Krasikov insisted he was an innocent Russian tourist with no relation to Krelim. However, German prosecutors, aided by Kyiv authorities and investigative website Bellingcat, proved he was a veteran agent working for the secretive Vympel department of the Russian security service FSB. But Moscow condemned the trial, insisting that he was an innocent citizen and his arrest was politically motivated. Germany expelled two Russian diplomats soon after Krasikov's conviction. According to the Wall Street Journal, Russian President Vladimir Putin sought Krasikov's release briefly after his conviction. He asked his top security advisor, Nikolai Patrushev, to conduct the negotiations. Putin also seeks the release of other Russian agents. However, Krasikov remains his top priority. US President Joe Biden also confirmed his interest in a prisoner swap in July. But Germany's unwillingness to release Krasikov, who was convicted of murder on its land, might be an obstacle to Russia's plan. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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East-West prisoner swap: Kremlin says Vadim Krasikov, freed by Germany, is FSB operative

Who is Vadim Krasikov? Assassin Russia wants in prisoner swap for US WSJ journalist