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

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.

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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.

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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. ButGermany'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)

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