Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has admitted that Vadim Krasikov, who was released by Germany as part of a major prisoner swap, is working for the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service). Russia had previously denied this fact.

Source: Peskov at a briefing on Friday, European Pravda citing the Russian Interfax news agency

Quote: "Krasikov is an employee of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. He served in Alpha Group. It's interesting that when he served in Alpha Group, he served together with several members of the president's (Russian President Vladimir Putin's – ed.) security team. Obviously, they greeted each other yesterday when they saw each other."

Background:

• Krasikov was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany in late 2021 for shooting a Georgian of Chechen origin in Berlin in August 2019. The court found that Krasikov committed the murder on behalf of Russian state authorities.
• Kremlin leader Putin greeted Krasikov at the airport with a handshake when he arrived in Moscow after his release.
• Krasikov was released on 1 August as part of a history-making prisoner exchange between Russia and Belarus, as well as the United States, Germany and three other NATO countries.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted that the decision to release the convicted murderer Krasikov was not easy.
• Negotiations between the West and Russia, which led to Thursday's large prisoner exchange, reportedly lasted more than two years.

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