Eight Russians Detained and Held in Several NATO Countries Brought Back to Fatherland - FSB
16:54 GMT 01.08.2024 (Updated: 20:12 GMT 01.08.2024)
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The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that eight Russian citizens, who were detained and imprisoned in several NATO countries, have been returned to Russia. The exchange took place at Ankara airport (Turkiye) on August 1, 2024, and also included the repatriation of minor children.
The FSB's Public Relations Center announced that eight Russians, previously detained and imprisoned in several NATO countries, have been brought back to Russia. The security service added that the recently returned Russians were exchanged for a group of individuals who had been acting on behalf of foreign states, compromising Russia's security.
"On August 1, 2024, as a result of an exchange that took place at the airport in Ankara (Turkiye), eight Russian citizens, detained and imprisoned in several NATO countries, along with their minor children, were returned to their homeland," the statement said.
"Russian citizens were exchanged for a group of individuals acting in the interests of foreign states to the detriment of the security of the Russian Federation," it continued.
The return of the Russian citizens was made possible thanks to the systematic work of competent state agencies and foreign partners.
"Their return was made possible thanks to the systematic and targeted work of competent state agencies, as well as foreign partners," the statement said.
⚡️Russia is fully satisfied with the prisoner exchange that took place, a reliable source in one of the competent Russian agencies said.
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 1, 2024
During the exchange, all parties involved fully complied with the agreements, the source added. https://t.co/djoAmp8cpd
Who is returning to Russia as part of the prisoner exchange with the US:
️Vadim Krasikov, a former Russian intelligence officer arrested in Germany in 2019 and accused by Berlin of terminating Chechen terrorist Zelimkhan Khangoshvili on German soil.
️Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, arrested in 2022 in Slovenia and accused of being deep-cover Russian intelligence operatives whose names (if Western media is to be believed) are Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva.
️Roman Seleznev, a Russian IT specialist who was accused by US authorities of being a hacker and of defrauding banks of millions of dollars.
Vladislav Klyushin, a Russian businessman who was arrested in Switzerland in 2021 and extradited to the US. The American authorities accused Klyushin of participating in “an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million through securities trades based on confidential corporate information stolen from U.S. computer networks,” as the US DoJ put it.
Vadim Konoshchenok, a Russian businessman who the US authorities claim has ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). In 2023 he was arrested in Estonia and extradited to the US to be tried on charges of smuggling dual-use technologies and ammunition from the United States to Russia.
Mikhail Mikushin, a Russian national who was arrested in Norway while posing as a Brazilian academic called Jose Assis Gaammaria. Norwegian authorities suspected him of being a Russian intelligence operative but Mikushin only admitted to using a false identity to gain employment at the University of Tromso.
Pavel Rubtsov, also known as Pablo Gonzalez Yague, is a Russian-Spanish journalist who was arrested in 2022 in Poland on suspicion of espionage.
⚡️All citizens returned to the Russian Federation will be presented with state awards, Putin reveals.
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 1, 2024
Vladimir Putin congratulated the freed Russians on their return to their homeland and thanked them for their loyalty to Russia. pic.twitter.com/ypsgJDzJAR
Who left Russia with Putin's pardon as part of the prisoner swap deal:
Evan Gershkovich is a US journalist working for Wall Street Journal who was detained in Russia in March 2023 and convicted of espionage.
Paul Whelan is a Canadian-born former US marine who was arrested in Russia in 2018 and convicted of espionage two years later.
Alsu Kurmasheva is an employee of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Western propaganda outlet branded as a foreign agent in Russia) who was arrested in Russia in 2023 on charges of spreading fakes about Russian Armed Forces.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian journalist who was arrested in Russia in 2022 and a year later convicted on charges of treason and spreading fakes about Russian Armed Forces.
Kevin Lick is a citizen of both Russia and Germany who was convicted on espionage charges in 2023. He was arrested in Russia when trying to flee to Germany with data pertaining to Russian troop movements.
Demuri Voronin is a Russian political consultant who was convicted in 2023 on charges of treason for helping deliver to German intelligence sensitive information about Russian military activities in Syria.
Andrei Pivovarov is a former executive director of the now-defunct Open Russia, a shady organization established in 2001 by the infamous Russian oligarch and convicted criminal Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In 2021 Pivovarov was arrested in Russia and convicted on charges of cooperating with an undesirable organization.
A number of Russian prisoners convicted on a variety of charges ranging from creating extremist organizations and trying to set up a terrorist network to spreading fakes about Russian Armed Forces: Ilya Yashin, Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva, Vadim Ostanin, Aleksandra Skochilenko.
Also as a part of the deal Rico Krieger, a German mercenary working for Ukraine who was sentenced to death in Belarus this year after being found guilty of perpetrating an act of terrorism on Belarusian soil, was pardoned by the President of Belarus and released. Moscow is grateful to Lukashenko for a goodwill gesture.
❗️FSB published a video of citizens who were pardoned by the Russian president and exchanged for Russian citizens boarding a plane before flying to Turkiye. pic.twitter.com/8euJU1ssiV
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 1, 2024
Meanwhile, a White House National Security Council spokesperson told Sputnik that US President Joe Biden did not talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the major prisoner exchange deal that took place earlier.
"No," the spokesperson said when asked whether Biden had made contact with Putin as the prisoner swap deal was being put together.
Biden said during a press conference about the prisoner exchange that he does not need to speak with Putin following the swap.
