“Krasikov is a high-ranking colonel in the FSB’s elite Spetsnaz unit,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA and “Putin’s Manual” intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital, referring to Russia’s intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB). . .
Vadim Krasikov (Reuters)
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“Krasikov is a very valuable asset who will be briefed through the Russian security services about the operation, how he was detained, what he learned in interrogations in Germany and everything that is of interest to Russians,” he explained. to help the Russians improve their operational strategies for Russian intelligence. “
Koffler also said that Putin’s agent would most likely be used to exercise “would-be assassins for long-term operations, making them even more deadly and difficult to find and apprehend. . . Putin also needs to show potential recruits that he would do it personally. Worrying about getting his men out in case they are arrested is a huge incentive to recruit. “
FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov, sentenced to life in prison in 2021, exchanged on August 1, 2024 as part of a primary prisoner exchange; Observed here received by President Vladimir Putin upon his arrival in Russia. (East2West)
Reuters reported that Krasikov, born in Kazakhstan in 1965, when that country was still part of the Soviet Union, became a specialized assassin while applying for the FSB, according to information from Bellingcat.
Despite witnesses to the murder of the Chechen commander in broad daylight, Krasikov pleaded not guilty, claiming he was a structural engineer from St. Petersburg who was visiting Berlin as a tourist and calling himself Sokolov.
Although he was never shown directly as an agent through Moscow, Putin spoke of Krasikov in 2023 when he expressed his preference for securing the release of someone who “eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals”.
Vladimir Putin hosts FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov as part of a major prisoner exchange with the United States and other Western countries. (East2West)
Ukraine security helped investigators identify the Russian FSB agent after obtaining footage of the man at his second wedding in Kharkiv in 2010.
According to Reuters, Krasikov never identified the court during the trial and refused to pay attention to the translation of the proceedings provided to him.
Reports recommend that the prisoner exchange would have taken place without Krasikov’s release, which put a huge weight on the shoulders of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“Our legal responsibility towards German citizens and our solidarity with the United States were vital motivators,” the German government said on Thursday, according to a Reuters report.
President Biden also supported Germany’s efforts in prisoner exchange, saying, “I owe especially a feeling of gratitude to the Chancellor. “
Evan Gershkovich, Alsou Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan appear on a plane after being released from Russia in a historic exchange on Aug. 1, 2024 (U. S. government). USA).
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“The demands they made of me demanded that I discharge concessions from Germany,” he said. “But everyone has stepped up their efforts. Poland has stepped up its efforts, Slovenia has stepped up its efforts and Turkey has stepped up its efforts. “
“It’s vital to have relationships. It is,” Biden added.
Among the prisoners returning to the United States are Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva, as well as legal permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The 12 prisoners who will be brought from Russia are all German citizens held as political prisoners.
The large transfer affected at least seven countries for several months all Russian prisoners requested through Moscow from the United States, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland, the White House announced Thursday.
President Biden discusses the release of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsou Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, detained in Russia, a brief occasion on which some of their family members were sent to the White House on August 1, 2024. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
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“There has never been, as far as we know, an exchange involving so many countries, so many partners and close allies of the United States running together,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. “This is the stage of many rounds of complex and laborious negotiations that have lasted many, many months. “
Biden considers the historic exchange a “diplomatic feat. ”
“Some of these women and men have been unjustly detained for years. All have endured suffering and uncertainty. Today his agony is over,” he said in a statement.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Caitlin McFall is a Fox News Digital reporter covering politics, the United States and the world.
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