Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmytro Peskov, recognized Russian contract killer Vadym Krasikov, who was released as part of a major prisoner swap, as an FSS agent.
Points of attention
- The Kremlin admitted that Vadym Krasikov was an FSS agent.
- Putin's strategy of arresting foreign nationals for exchange allows the release of murderers, spies and hackers.
- Krasikov was convicted in Germany for the murder of a Georgian of Chechen origin in Berlin.
- Russia wins swap deals by freeing those convicted of serious crimes in exchange for wrongfully arrested foreign nationals.
- Putin supports and protects his operatives caught abroad, sharing a code of loyalty with them.
What the Kremlin says about Krasikov's work in the FSS
Krasikov is an employee of the Federal Security Service. He served in "Alfa". It is interesting that when he served in "Alfa", he served together with several employees of the president's security. Naturally, they greeted each other yesterday when they saw each other, - said the spokesman of the Kremlin dictator.
At the end of 2021, Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for shooting a Georgian of Chechen origin in Berlin in August 2019. The court found it proven that Krasikov committed the murder on behalf of Russian state authorities.
When Krasikov arrived in Moscow after his release, Kremlin leader Putin greeted him at the airport with a handshake.
What are they saying in the West about the exchange and return of Krasikov to Russia
Journalists of The Washington Post note that Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin's strategy of arresting foreign citizens on baseless charges and holding them hostage has allowed the release of murderers, spies and hackers.
In particular, Putin, as part of a major exchange with Western countries, secured the release of one of the hired killers closest to him, Vadym Krasikov.
Thursday's major prisoner exchange underscored the difficult imbalance that has become typical of such deals, where Russia wins the release of those convicted of serious crimes while the West focuses on its own citizens jailed on trivial or baseless charges, or even on Russian nationals. , who are victims of political persecution by Putin's government, the publication says.
According to Bellingcat investigators, Krasikov worked in the Vimpel FSS special group.
In 2019, in a Berlin park in broad daylight, he jumped off his bicycle, pulled out a Glock 26 pistol with a silencer and shot Georgian-born Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former fighter in the Chechen separatist war.
Krasikov fled, but was caught after he threw the gun and wig into the Spree River.
Krasikov was particularly important to Putin, who repeatedly publicly defended him, portraying Khangoshvili's victim as a terrorist who committed atrocities.
Putin shares a code of loyalty with Russian spies and other operatives caught abroad, as he himself is a former SSC operative.
