East-West Prisoner Swap: The Return of Vadim Krasikov

The Kremlin confirmed Vadim Krasikov, a hitman returned by Germany in a major East-West prisoner exchange, as an FSB employee. Krasikov was convicted of murdering a former Chechen militant in Berlin. The exchange was negotiated by the FSB and CIA, with President Putin personally greeting Krasikov in Moscow.

The Kremlin confirmed on Friday that Vadim Krasikov, a hitman returned by Germany in the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War, was an operative of Russia's FSB security service. He had previously served in the elite Alpha Group, the FSB's special forces unit.

Krasikov was convicted by a German court for the 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park. Upon his arrival in Moscow on Thursday evening, he was greeted with a hug from President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that the intricate prisoner swap was orchestrated by the FSB in collaboration with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.