Russia receives eight criminals in historic prisoner swap, bringing total to 24 The detainees were released under a complex agreement involving seven countries, including the United States and Germany.
Here’s the list of badasses allowed back to Russia in the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War:
Vadim Krasikov
An undated photo seen by Reuters shows Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman given a life sentence in 2021 for the assassination of a Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park. (Reuters)
At the top of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wish list was Vadim Krasikov, a hitman who used the alias Vadim Sokolov and was convicted by a German court in 2019 of assassinating a former Chechen commander near the Reichstag in Berlin.
WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich released in prisoner swap with Russia; Paul Whelan also released
He appears to have carried out the assassination on the orders of Moscow security services.
Roman Seleznev
Roman Seleznev was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme. (U.S. Department of Justice)
Roman Seleznev, the son of a Russian member of parliament, was convicted of hacking into more than 500 US companies and stealing millions of credit card numbers and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
He was also sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
‘Dangerous message’: Top Republican expresses concern about trading Americans for ‘real Russian criminals’
Vadim Konoshenok
Vadim Konoshenko, who was accused of supplying US-made electronic equipment and ammunition to the Russian military, is reportedly the last prisoner to be released from the US. (U.S. Department of Justice)
Vadim Konoshenok, a Russian national with alleged ties to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), is accused of supplying US-made electronic equipment and ammunition to the Russian military.
He was extradited to the United States from Estonia last month.
“As alleged, the defendants were significant participants in a scheme to provide sensitive U.S.-made electronics and munitions to Russia to further its war efforts and weapons development, violating U.S. export controls, economic sanctions, and other criminal laws,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a press release at the time. “This case serves as the latest example that if anyone violates U.S. export controls or evades U.S. sanctions, wherever they may be in the world, we will not rest until they are brought to justice in a U.S. court.”
Vladislav Kryushin
FILE – This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office shows the Russian passport of Vladislav Klyushin, who was convicted on Feb. 14, 2023, for participating in an insider trading scheme. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, via The Associated Press, File)
Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin was convicted of participating in an elaborate hacking and trading scheme that made about $93 million by making securities trades based on confidential business information stolen from U.S. computer networks.
In February 2023, Kryushin was convicted by a federal jury of securities fraud, wire fraud, unauthorized computer access, and conspiracy to commit those crimes.
He was arrested in Switzerland in March 2021 and extradited to the United States later that year.
Pavel Rubtsov
Pawel Rubtsov was identified as a Russian spy by Poland’s Internal Security Service in 2022. He worked as a journalist for Spanish media under the pseudonym Pablo Gonzalez. He was arrested on suspicion of espionage in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border in the first days after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Artyom and Anna Durtsev
Artyom Durtsev and Anna Durtseva are a Russian couple who were arrested in Slovenia in 2022 on espionage charges.
Posing as Argentine nationals, they reportedly had been based in Slovenia since 2017 and travelled to neighbouring countries, passing on Moscow’s orders to other Russian undercover operatives.
They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 19 months in prison. They were released after serving their sentences. The couple are said to have two children.
Mikhail Mikushin
Mikhail Mikushin was arrested in Norway in 2022 on suspicion of espionage.
Norwegian investigators say he was living in Norway under a false identity while working for Russian intelligence.
He allegedly entered the country claiming to be a Brazilian citizen.
Biden calls Russian prisoner swap deal that freed WSJ’s Gershkovich and Whelan a “diplomatic feat”
The photo features Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in the center and, clockwise from top left, Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, former coordinator for the local office of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny Lilia Chanisheva, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Memorial Center for Human Rights co-chair Oleg Orlov, artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, Russian dissident and former Krasnoselsky district city council member Ilya Yashin, Arush Kurmasheva of the Tatar-Bashki language division of the government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Andrei Pivovarov, former head of the Open Russia Movement. (Associated Press)
This historic exchange resulted in the release of three US citizens and one US green card holder who had been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Ars Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza.
President Biden He called the prisoner exchange agreement a “feat of diplomacy.”
“We have negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia, including five German nationals and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their home countries. Some of these women and men had been unjustly detained for years. All had endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today their suffering has ended,” the White House said in a press release.
Fox News reported that Biden had spoken to the former vice president in Slovenia by phone just an hour before he announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of this year’s presidential race, urging final adjustments to get the deal done.
Biden met separately with Turkish President Erdogan, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storle, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and expressed gratitude for their cooperation in the historic agreement that enabled the return of Americans and others held in Russia.
The President expressed his gratitude for their assistance during the complex negotiations and their active engagement throughout the process leading to this monumental release.
President Biden spoke about the prisoner swap agreement on Thursday, flanked by family members of the released prisoners. (AP/Alex Brandon)
But a top Republican on Thursday said the Biden administration Trafficking in Russian criminals The detained Americans could be sending a “dangerous message” to Russian President Putin.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) Celebrated with others Upon hearing of the release, he said he was “thrilled” to hear that the Americans who had been detained were going home.
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“But continuing to exchange innocent Americans for Russian criminals held in the United States and other countries sends a dangerous message to President Putin. More hostages By his administration,” he added.
Biden is scheduled to greet the returning prisoners at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday evening.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Julia Johnson, David Rutz, Brian Flood and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
