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☆ Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza thought he was being executed before his release in historic prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Helen Regan | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician and one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, has described the psychological torture he endured during 11 months in solitary confinement, saying he thought he would die in a Siberian cell. “Just a little over two weeks ago, I was still sitting in my solitary confinement cell in a harsh regime prison colony in Siberia. And I was certain that I was going to end my life in the prison,” Kara-Murza said. But Kara-Murza was taken to a passenger airport in Omsk and loaded onto a plane headed for Moscow. Now enjoying his freedom and time with his family, Kara-Murza has promised to return to Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Kara, Murza, Vladimir Putin’s, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, ” Kara, Alexei Navalny, Kara, Erin Burnett, Evgenia Kara, Murza –, –, Vladimir, “ Vladimir Putin’s, ”, “, Vadim Krasikov, Muza, Joe Biden, Biden, Evgenia Organizations: CNN, Base Andrews, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Russia, Maryland, Siberia, New York, Ukraine, “, Belarus, Omsk, Moscow, Germany, Berlin, Ankara, Turkey, Washington ,, Kara

CNN —Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva said she’s “finally being treated as a human being” following her release from Russian detention in a historic prisoner exchange between Washington and the Kremlin last week. “I’ve been waking up from that nightmare,” Kurmasheva told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” in her first television interview since her release. Kurmasheva rushed into the arms of her husband and daughters on the tarmac after greeting Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. The US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist had been detained in October 2023 and found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army – charges her family and employer deny. Kurmasheva and her husband, Pavel Butorin, have two daughters, including one who turned 13 just minutes after reuniting with her mother.

Persons: Alsu Kurmasheva, she’s “, “ I’ve, ” Kurmasheva, CNN’s Jake Tapper, “, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Kurmasheva, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Pavel Butorin, Tapper, ”, Pavel, ” Pavel, wasn’t, —, Gershkovich, haven’t, Vladyslav, Ihar, Andrey Kuznechyk, Kurmasheva’s, she’s, we’ll, Vadim Krasikov, Biden, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Carstens, Trevor Reed, Brittney Griner, we’ve, We’ve, ” Carstens, ” Sen, Lindsey Graham, Marc Fogel, Fogel, someone’s, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, Base Andrews, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Wall Street, RFE, Ukrainian Service, publication’s, publication’s Belarus Service, Belarus Service, ” Hostage, Biden, Hostage Affairs, US, Fox News, South Carolina Republican Locations: American, Washington, Maryland, Radio Free Europe, Russian, Kazan, Moscow, Ankara, ”, Russia, Crimea, publication’s Belarus, Minsk, Belarus, Germany, Berlin

New York CNN —Bloomberg News took disciplinary action Monday against a “number” of its staffers after the outlet broke an embargo last week on news of the release of several American prisoners held by Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. In a memo sent to the outlet’s staff on Monday and obtained by CNN, Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait wrote that an initial story, published at 7:41 a.m. News organizations, including CNN, had agreed to hold on to news of the prisoners’ release so as not to endanger the process. Ahead of the prisoner swap, the White House had briefed reporters from multiple news organizations around 8 a.m. ET on the activity, with an embargo time on the news of later that day, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, John Micklethwait, Gershkovich, ”, ” Micklethwait, “, Emma Tucker, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Vadim Krasikov Organizations: New, New York CNN, Bloomberg, Wall Street, CNN, News, White, RFE Locations: New York, Russia, US, Turkey’s Ankara, Belarus, Germany

☆ Long Johns, Forensics and a Bound Russian Killer: Inside the Big Prisoner Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Mark Mazzetti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The private jet that took off from southwest Germany on Thursday afternoon was carrying a group that may have never expected to be confined together: police officers, doctors, intelligence agents, a senior aide to Germany’s chancellor — and a convicted Russian assassin. In the back of the plane, the assassin, Vadim Krasikov, sat with his hands and feet bound and wearing protective headgear; he was not heard uttering a word on the entire flight. At the same time, a Russian government jet was also headed for Ankara, Turkey’s capital, carrying officers from the F.S.B. intelligence agency and 16 prisoners being released by Russia and Belarus. At one point, one of the F.S.B.

Persons: —, Vadim Krasikov, “, Krasikov Locations: Germany, Russian, Ankara, Turkey’s, Russia, Belarus, Moscow

☆ Putin got a pretty great deal, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThe US claimed a major victory on Thursday, orchestrating a sweeping prisoner exchange with Russia that returned high-profile captives. Smiles in the KremlinAndrew Payne, a City University of London lecturer in foreign policy, told BI that Putin won the historic deal. "You could say in that sense that Putin got a better deal," Payne said. Though Putin won on a transactional level, the deal also greatly benefited Biden, Payne said. "For Biden, this deal signals that he's still in charge and still has what it takes to manage high-stakes diplomacy," he said.

Persons: —, Russia —, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Kremlin Andrew Payne, Putin, launderers, Payne, Joe Biden, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Tucker Carlson, Sergej, Gershkovich, Emma Tucker, Sam Greene, Biden, Donald Trump Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Business, City University of London, Krasikov, European Resilience Initiative, BBC, Street, King's College London, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Kremlin, Berlin, Georgian, German, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Children of Russian spy couple in prisoner swap only learned their nationality on flight to Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Anna Chernova | Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The children of two Russian intelligence agents, who were among the detainees released as part of a historic prisoner swap, only discovered their nationality when they were being flown to Moscow, the Kremlin said Friday. The pair had been posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia where they were convicted of spying. Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted them on the tarmac in Spanish as they didn’t speak Russian and didn’t even know who Putin was, according to Peskov. “When the children came down the plane’s steps – they don’t speak Russian – and Putin greeted them in Spanish, he said ‘Buenas noches,’” Peskov said. While living undercover in Slovenia, Dultsev posed as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gisch.

Persons: Artem Dultsev, Anna Dultseva, “, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, –, ‘ Buenas, ” Peskov, ”, Dultseva, bouquets, Dultsev, Vadim Krasikov, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Ludvig Gisch, Maria Rosa Mayer Munos, Peskov Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, CIA Locations: Moscow, Argentine, Slovenia, Turkey, Russian, Ankara, ”, Spanish, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Berlin, Ljubljana, United States

☆ Convicted Assassin Is a Russian Security Agent, Kremlin Acknowledges
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The convicted assassin who was the linchpin of the biggest prisoner swap in decades is a member of the most powerful security agency in Russia, the Kremlin acknowledged on Friday, and had served in a special unit with some agents who now guard President Vladimir V. Putin. The ties help explain Mr. Putin’s determination to free the assassin, Vadim Krasikov, from the German prison where he was serving time for murder. The effort culminated on Thursday when Mr. Krasikov and seven other former prisoners returned to Moscow after an exchange with Western nations that involved 24 adults and seven countries. Mr. Putin has not hid his admiration for Mr. Krasikov, who had been jailed in Germany since 2019 for the murder of a Chechen former separatist fighter in Berlin. In an interview in February, Mr. Putin referred to Mr. Krasikov as “a patriot” who was doing his duty by eliminating an enemy of the Russian state.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Vadim Krasikov, Krasikov, Dmitri S, Mr, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Federal Security Service, Mr Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Soviet, Germany, Chechen, Berlin

☆ How Aleksei Navalny’s Death Restored Evan Gershkovich’s Life - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( M. Gessen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A few days ago, Russian political prisoners started vanishing from their prison colonies: Their lawyers would come to see them only to be told their clients were no longer there. The disappearance of an inmate is often bad news — it can mean a move to a more remote colony, illness or death. “A trade,” a prominent Russian in exile posted on his Facebook page, without bothering to explain the reference. “Definitely a trade,” posted a young Russian activist in exile, a day later. On Thursday, Russia released the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, along with 15 other inmates.

Persons: ”, “, Evan Gershkovich, Vadim Krasikov, Christo Grozev, Maria Pevchikh, Aleksei Navalny Organizations: Street Locations: Russian, Russia, Germany, United States, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, Vienna, Los Angeles

☆ Joint Base Andrews: Three freed Americans back on US soil in Maryland after historic prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Elizabeth Whelan hugs her brother Paul Whelan at Joint Base Andrews following his release from a Russian prison. Alex Brandon/APPresident Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk with family members of the returning Americans to greet them at Joint Base Andrews. Today, their agony is over,” said Biden, who hosted the families of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House. Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva flew roughly 10 hours from Ankara, Turkey, on top of a three hour and 45 minute flight from Moscow to Ankara. This is typical protocol for wrongfully detained Americans who return home.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Whelan, Gershkovich, Harris, Biden, Kurmasheva, “, ”, ” Biden, Feedback Biden, CNN Whelan, Vladimir Kara, Murza, –, Vadim Krasikov, Elizabeth Whelan, Joint Base Andrews, Alex Brandon, Base Andrews, Brittney Griner Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Joint Base Andrews, Street Journal, US State Department, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Washington Post, Joint Base, Base, AP, White, National Security Council, State Department, Brooke Army Medical Center, Defense Department Locations: American, United States, Russia, Maryland, Moscow, Radio Free Europe, Germany, Poland, Norway, Slovenia, Gershkovich, Kara, Ankara, Turkey, San Antonio, PISA

☆ Germany Grapples With ‘Difficult Decision’ in Prisoner Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The convicted Russian killer bounded off a plane in Moscow on Thursday, hours after Germany freed him in a wide-ranging prison exchange with Russia. Zurab Khangoshvili, the brother of the Chechen exile shot by the assassin, repeatedly scrolled through the video of the scene, watching from his home in Germany with profound sadness, he said. “That man killed someone here, and then he went back to Russia to a welcoming ceremony with this huge red carpet. It was unfair.”Germany played a critical role in the complicated trade that on Thursday secured the release of 16 prisoners to the West in exchange for eight prisoners to Russia. No part of that deal was more fraught than agreeing to release Vadim Krasikov, sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for killing Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Chechen separatist commander who had sought asylum in Germany.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Zurab Khangoshvili, ”, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili Locations: Moscow, Russia, Germany, ” Germany, Chechen

☆ How the Russian prisoner swap that freed Evan Gershkovich unfolded over two years
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The effort took on extra urgency in March 2023, when the Russians arrested Gershkovich, a senior administration official said. Days later, NBC News reported that a deal that could have sprung Navalny, Gershkovich and Whelan had been in the works. After Biden and Scholz met on Feb. 9, Scholz told Biden he was on board. Vice President Kamala Harris also discussed the prisoner swap with Scholz, telling him that Krasikov was a critical component of getting a prisoner swap with Russia, a White House official said. That was when he called the Slovenian prime minister to make sure his country was ready to release the Russian in their custody.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Brittney Griner, Biden, Viktor Bout, Paul Whelan ’, Whelan, Paul Whelan, Antony Blinken, “, ” Blinken, Sergei Lavrov, Gershkovich, Blinken, Lavrov, ” Lavrov, ”, ” Gershkovich, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Olaf Scholz, Krasikov, Griner, Whalen, Joe Biden, Scholz, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Elizabeth Whelan, Sullivan, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Kurmasheva, ” Biden Organizations: Wall Street, Marine, AP, NBC News, Berlin, White, Biden Locations: Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Berlin, Moscow, Germany, Chechen, Russian, U.S, Nevada, Slovenian

☆ Who Is the Russian Assassin Freed as Part of a Sweeping Prisoner Swap?
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The assassination took place in broad daylight in a downtown Berlin park. The Russian gunman pedalled up on a bicycle before shooting a former Chechen separatist fighter in the head as children and their parents looked on. On Thursday, he was freed as part of the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The deal also included numerous Russian political dissidents that the Kremlin released from jail, while Western nations traded eight Russian prisoners. Mr. Krasikov, in his late 50s, appeared to be the linchpin of the multifaceted deal, since Mr. Putin himself indicated that was whom he wanted.

Persons: pedalled, Vadim Krasikov, Vladimir V, Putin, — Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan, —, Krasikov Organizations: Street, U.S . Marine, Kremlin, Western Locations: Berlin, Chechen, Germany, Russia, U.S

☆ WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-Marine Whelan released in U.S., Russia prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowWall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released Thursday by Russia as part of a major, multi-nation swap of two dozen prisoners. "All four have been imprisoned unjustly in Russia," President Joe Biden said in a televised address from the White House, where he was flanked by their family members. Eight Russians, including the spy and convicted hitman Vadim Krasikov, are being returned to Russia from the United States, Slovenia, Norway, Poland and Germany. "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy," Biden said in a statement released by the White House, where Biden planned to meet family members of the released Americans. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the release of Americans detained in Russia during brief remarks from the White House in Washington, U.S., August 1, 2024.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, U.S . Marine Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Joe Biden, Vadim Krasikov, Paul Whelan, Krasikov, Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva, Kara, Biden, we've, Jake Sullivan, " Sullivan, Nathan Howard, Reuters Gershkovich, Dieter Voronin, Kevin Lick, Rico Krieger, Patrick Schoebel, Herman Moyzhes, Ilya Yashin, Liliya, Kseniya Fadeyeva, Vadim Ostanin, Andrey Pivovarov, Oleg Orlov, Sasha Skochilenko, Artem Viktorovich Dultsev, Anna Valerevna Dultseva, Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin, Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov, Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klyushin, Vadim Konoshchenock Organizations: Wall Street, U.S . Marine, White, Biden, National, Reuters Locations: Russia, American, Russian, Turkey, United States, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, Germany, Chechen, Berlin, Washington , U.S, Moscow

The Russian officials took the proposal back to Moscow. It was a remarkably swift conclusion to years of painstaking negotiations between the US and more than half a dozen countries. Key to the deal was President Biden’s ability to persuade German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to release Krasikov, the Russian prisoner most keenly sought by Putin. Officials worked quietly throughout this year to get the German government to agree to release Krasikov — including entreaties from both Biden and Harris. President Biden sent a letter to Scholz in April, and the Germans at last agreed to release Krasikov in early June.

Persons: CNN —, Vadim Krasikov, who’d, who’s, Vladimir Putin, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Bill Burns, Gershkovich, Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Kurmasheva, Joe Biden, Biden, Kamala Harris, Serdar Ozsoy, Biden’s, Olaf Scholz, Putin, Krasikov, Brittney Griner, Burns, –, Viktor Bout, Alexey Navalny, Brendan Smialowski, Antony Blinken, James Rubin, Blinken, Annalena Baerbock, Jake Sullivan, Harris, Scholz, “ Chancellor Scholz, “, Jake, ‘, ’, Sullivan, Navalny, Paul, Evan, ”, Ronald Wittek, Kara, Robert Golob, Kurmasheva’s, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Carstens, Jeff Flake, ” Flake, Flake, ” Sullivan Organizations: CNN, CIA, Wall Street, White, Base Andrews, Aircraft, Ankara Esenboga Airport, US Marine, WNBA, State Department, National Security Council, Krasikov, Getty, German, National, Biden, Munich, Conference, US, Munich Security, Aspen Security, Street, Hostage Affairs Locations: Eastern, Russia, Russian, Berlin, Moscow, American, Turkey, Ankara, Chechen, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, Washington , DC, AFP, Germany, ”, Munich, Washington, Slovenian, Mordovia, “

☆ Videos show the moment Americans were freed from Russian captivity after high-stakes prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewNew video footage reveals the moment that Russia freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and others in a massive prisoner swap that took place in Turkey on Thursday. Gershkovich, Whelan, and 14 others were released as part of a historic and high-stakes exchange with Russia that marked the most complex prisoner swap since the Cold War. Russia's Federal Security Service, more commonly known as the FSB, released several videos of the tense prisoner exchange at an airport in Turkey. AdvertisementThe Russian FSB released a video showing prisoners from the Russian side being loaded onto a plane bound for Turkey for a prisoner exchange. AdvertisementWhite House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that he could confirm there was no money exchanged or sanctions loosened to facilitate the prisoner swap.

Persons: —, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Gershkovich, Whelan, Joe Biden, Rico Krieger, — Hanna Liubakova, we've, Biden, Evan Greshkovich, eason, hite, J ake S ullivan, ould Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Business, Russia's Federal Security Service, RIA Novosti, FSB, Russian Federal Security Service, lsu Locations: Russia, Turkey, Russia's, Moscow, Ankara, Belarus

☆ Who was freed in major prisoner swap between Russia and the West?
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The German court that convicted Krasikov in 2021 said he acted on behalf of the Russian state, shooting Khangoshvili “execution style” in broad daylight. Vadim Konoshchenok, 48An undated photo of Vadim Konoshchenok included in a 2022 court document. He was arrested in February 2022, according to the Polish state news agency PAP. Lilia Chanysheva, 42Lilia Chanysheva stands is seen during a hearing at the Kirovskiy District Court in Ufa, Russia, on June 14, 2023. He was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in July 2022, according to Amnesty International.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Vadim Krasikov, Vadim Krasikov Berlin Police Krasikov, Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Khangoshvili, Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin, Viktor Bout, Whelan, Brittney, Biden, Alexey Navalny, Vadim Konoshchenok, Konoshchenok, Vladislav Klyushin, Klyushin, Roman Seleznev, US Department of Justice Roman Seleznev, Seleznev, Artem Dultsev, Ludvig Gish, Anna Dultseva, Dultsev, Maria Rosa Mayer Munos, Mikhail Mikushin, Pavel Rubtsov, Pablo Gonzalez, Oihana Goiriena, Vincent West, Pablo Gonzales, Natalia Kolesnikova, Kirill Kudryavtsev, US Marine Whelan, Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, Liberty Alsu Kurmasheva, Alexey Nasyrov, Kurmasheva, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Kara, Vladimir Putin’s “, ”, Rico Krieger, Krieger, Alexander Lukashenko, Kevin Lik, Lick, Dieter, Voronin, Ivan Safronov, Roscosmos, Demuri Voronin, Safronov, Herman Moyzhes, Moyzhes, Patrick Schoebel, Schoebel, Ilya Yashin, Yuri Kochetkov, ” Alexandra Skochilenko, Alexandra Skochilenko, Anton Vaganov, Skochilenko, “, ” Oleg Orlov, Oleg Orlov, Lilia Chanysheva, Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva, Maxim Shemetov, Fadeeva, Vadim Ostanin, Alexei Navalny’s, Ostanin, Andrei Pivovarov, Pivovarov Organizations: CNN, Vadim Krasikov Berlin Police, Chechen, Russian, Krasikov, US Department of Justice, US, Office, Eastern, of, Attorney's, University of Tromsø, Reuters, Court, Getty, Street, US Marine, US State Department, Radio Free, Liberty, AP, Belarusian TV, Belteleradio, Human Rights, German Red Cross, TASS, German Federal Intelligence Service, Pulkovo, Ukraine, Amnesty International Locations: American, Russia, Moscow, Berlin’s Kleiner, Russian, Georgia, Estonia, of New York, Boston, Sion , Switzerland, United States, Maldives, Slovenia, Ljubljana, Norway, Brazilian, Nabarniz, Spain, Poland, Spanish, Sverdlovsk, AFP, Irish, Radio Free Europe, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Belarusian, German, Belarus, Berlin, Germany, Europe, St . Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Meshansky, Bucha, Kyiv, Saint Petersburg, Kirovskiy, Ufa, Bashkortostan, Tomsk, Krasnodar

☆ Russia Freed Evan Gershkovich in a Major Prisoner Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A prisoner swap involving seven countries freed the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, two other Americans and several Russian opposition figures. It was the most far-reaching exchange between Russia and the West in decades. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are planning to greet the released Americans tonight at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The exchange was also a triumph of sorts for Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, who had long sought Krasikov’s release. “So, in the eyes of the Kremlin, Krasikov’s assassination in Berlin of a Chechen separatist leader whom Russia labeled a terrorist was legitimate,” he said.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Vadim Krasikov, Biden, Kamala Harris, “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Neil MacFarquhar Organizations: Wall Street, Base Andrews, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Germany, Chechen, Berlin, Ankara, Turkey’s, U.S, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Maryland

☆ Biden celebrates prisoner deal and importance of allies in key moment for his legacy
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Biden also had multiple conversations about the deal with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, including when the chancellor visited the Oval Office in February. Convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed in Germany, was critical to getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a deal. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!” Trump said. “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden said before turning to leave the room. A senior administration official defended the release of Krasikov as part of the deal.

Persons: Russia –, Joe Biden, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Kamala Harris, Biden, Donald Trump’s, Harris, “, ” Biden, ” Trump, ”, They’re, Olaf Scholz, Vadim Krasikov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, CNN’s Steve Contorno, Trump, Gershkovich, Whelan, Scholz, Krasikov, Paul, Evan, Alsu, Vladimir, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, CNN’s MJ Lee, Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Ivana Kottasova, Alex Marquardt, Betsy Klein, Donald Judd, Sam Fossum, Steve Contorno, Kit Maher, Jeff Zeleny Organizations: CNN, Russia, Wall Street, NATO, Slovenian, HOME, WE, White, Munich, Conference, “ Locations: United States of America, Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Germany, Ohio, Berlin, American, Russian

☆ What a historic prisoner swap means for Vladimir Putin’s Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Among those headed back to Russia are convicted hackers and several Russian nationals detained in the West for spying. And the biggest prize for Russia was the return of Vadim Krasikov, a convicted hitman whose release had been publicly sought by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Anna Chapman, one of 10 Russian sleeper agents deported from the US in a 2010 prisoner swap, was also feted on her return to Russia. Britain blamed the poisoning on Russia; Russia has consistently denied involvement, although Putin referred to Skripal as a “scumbag” and a “traitor,” his contempt suggesting that Skripal had gotten his just desserts. The release of Russians in the swap means that Russia’s political climate is no less repressive.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Vladimir Kara, John le, Vadim Krasikov, Vladimir Putin, Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Tucker Carlson, Putin, Khangoshvili, ” Krasikov, Viktor Bout, Brittney, US Department of Justice –, Bout, Anna Chapman, Chapman, ”, Sergei Skripal, Skripal, Yulia, Novichok, Frank Augstein, Alexander Litvinenko, Litvinenko, Andrei Lugovoi, Dmitri Kovtun –, Lugovoi, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, Roman Abramovich, Hillary Clinton, Murza –, –, Alexandra Skochilenko Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Russia, Berlin Police, US Department of Justice, Hollywood, St ., Economic, Russian, Kremlin, European, of Human Rights Locations: American, Ukraine, Russia, Chechen, Berlin, Russian, St, St . Petersburg, United Kingdom, English, Salisbury, Britain, England, British, Moscow, Washington, United States

In addition to Mr. Gershkovich, the prisoners freed by Russia included Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine arrested in 2018, and the Russian dissident Ilya Yashin, the official said. The prisoners freed by the West included Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin, the Turkish official said. The deal seemed sure to prompt jubilation among Western nations that had condemned the charges against Mr. Gershkovich and others as baseless and politically motivated. And it represented a political leap for Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, whose government agreed to release Mr. Krasikov as part of the deal. Mr. Putin has referred to Mr. Krasikov as a patriot for his killing of a Chechen former separatist fighter in Berlin in 2019.

Persons: Anton TroianovskiMark Mazzetti, Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Ilya Yashin, Vadim Krasikov, Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Krasikov, Ivan Nechepurenko Organizations: Street Journal, U.S . Marine, West, Turkish Locations: Turkey, Russia, Russian, Ankara, U.S, Chechen, Berlin

☆ Evan Gershkovich: Russia begins espionage trial of US reporter behind closed doors
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The trial of Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, began Wednesday morning in a closed door hearing that has been condemned by his newspaper and the United States. While many newsrooms subsequently pulled their reporters out of Russia, Gershkovich remained, covering the war and how it was changing life in Russia. Footage on Wednesday morning showed Gershkovich inside a glass court cage, his head shaved, ahead of the trial due to start imminently behind closed doors. The trial of Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet-era emigres to the US, has highlighted the extent to which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has harmed relations between Moscow and Washington. Gershkovich seen inside an enclosure for defendants in Yekaterinburg, Russia on June 26, 2024.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Gershkovich “, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, Ella Milman, Mikhail Gershkovich, “ He’s, ” Milman, He’s, Evan, Evgenia Novozhenina, Natalia Kolesnikova, Emma Tucker, “, ” Tucker, Joe Biden, Evan ”, Paul Whelan, Whelan, ”, Biden, Brittney Griner, –, Griner, Viktor Bout, Bout, Putin, Tucker Carlson, Andrei Soldatov, Vladimir Putin, Vadim Krasikov, ” Putin, Gershkovich’s, Mikhail Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Russia, CIA, WSJ, US State Department, State, Reuters, Getty, Journalism, “, Kremlin, Tucker Carlson Network Locations: American, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Washington, Sverdlovsk Regional, Russian, Moscow’s, AFP, Soviet, Ukrainian, Chechen, Berlin

For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow's courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. Guards take the American journalist from the notorious Lefortovo Prison in a van for the short drive to the courthouse. The periodic court hearings give Gershkovich’s family, friends and U.S. officials a glimpse of him, and for the 32-year-old journalist, it’s a break from his otherwise largely monotonous prison routine. Friends and family say Gershkovich is relying on his sense of humor to get through the days. Every day, Milman said, “I wake up and look at the clock.”“I think about if his lunchtime has passed, and his bedtime," she said.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, He’s, Gershkovich, it’s, “ It’s, ”, Ella Milman, Milman, Nicholas Daniloff, Emma Tucker, ” Milman, Evan, Francesca Ebel, Josef Stalin's, he’s, Polina Ivanova, He's, Pjotr Sauer, ” Sauer, Mikhail Gershkovich, doesn't, “, Biden, Lynne Tracy, Gershkovich “, Vladimir Putin, Vadim Krasikov, ” Ebel, Journal's Tucker, I’m, Tracy Organizations: Wall, Journal, Federal Security Service, U.S, Associated Press, Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Arsenal, British, Guardian, West Locations: Lefortovo, Yekaterinburg, Washington, Russia, Ukraine, “, New Jersey, Moscow, Russian, Germany, Berlin, Georgian

☆ Russian oligarch went to Moscow in effort to broker complex prisoner exchange that included Navalny, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Sebastian Shukla | Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —A multi-country prisoner exchange that might have freed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was being discussed and progressing when he died last month, multiple sources have told CNN, and included the direct involvement of a Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich. However, a source close to Navalny’s team told CNN that on the evening of February 15 they had received word that a message had been delivered to Putin. Clinton “initially passed on the message” to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Grozev told CNN. “We had to find a way to package the German asset [Krasikov] into an American negotiation,” the source close to the Navalny team said. Getting the message to Putin was one of the greatest challenges, the individual close to the Navalny team told CNN.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Roman Abramovich, Navalny, Abramovich, Hillary Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Maria Pevchikh, “, ”, Dmitry Peskov, it’s, Christo Grozev, Clinton, Grozev, Biden, Viktor Bout, Brittney Griner, Clinton “, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Pevchikh, Vadim Krasikov, Krasikov, Tucker Carlson, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Whelan, Gershkovich, Whelan –, Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, ” Abramovich Organizations: CNN, United Arab, Kremlin, IK, Aspen Ideas, FSB, US National, National Security, Wall Street, Krasikov, Navalny, US Department of Justice Locations: Russian, Moscow, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Siberia, Western, Russia, Aspen, Colorado, Berlin, Chechen, Europe, Germans, Brazil

☆ Navalny was on the verge of being freed in a high-stakes deal with Putin when he suddenly died, his staffers claim
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alexey Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his deathNavalny ally Maria Pevchikh said Putin had Navalny killed to prevent the swap. Navalny, Putin's political foe, died at an Arctic penal colony on February 16. Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin's pollitical nemesis, was close to being freed as part of a prisoner exchange before his death, according to one of his allies. Russian journalist and anti-corruption activist Maria Pevchikh alleged that Putin had Navalny killed because he didn't want the exchange to go through. "Navalny was supposed to be free in the coming days because we had received a decision on his exchange," Pevchikh said in the video.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Maria Pevchikh, Putin, Vladimir Putin's pollitical, Navalny, Pevchikh, Vladim Krasikov, Krasikov, Tucker Carlson, Evan Gershkovich —, —, Zelimkhan Organizations: YouTube Locations: Russian, Berlin, Moscow, Georgian, Caucasus

☆ Navalny Allies Say He Was About to Be Freed in a Prisoner Exchange
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aides to Aleksei A. Navalny asserted on Monday that the Russian opposition leader had been on the verge of being freed in a prisoner exchange with the West before he died earlier this month. Western officials were in advanced talks with the Kremlin on a deal that would have released Mr. Navalny along with two Americans in Russian prison, a top aide to the dead opposition leader, Maria Pevchikh, said in a video released on the Navalny team’s YouTube channel. As part of that deal, Ms. Pevchikh said, Germany would have released Vadim Krasikov, the man convicted of killing a former Chechen separatist fighter in a Berlin park in 2019. There was no immediate comment from any of the parties reportedly involved in the trade described by Ms. Pevchikh. A Kremlin spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Aleksei A, Navalny, Maria Pevchikh, Pevchikh, Vadim Krasikov, Mr, Putin, Krasikov, Tucker Carlson, Ms Organizations: West, Kremlin, YouTube, Fox News Locations: Russian, Germany, Chechen, Berlin

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