See the faces of evil the West is sending back to Russia in the biggest prisoner swap since the COLD WAR
A hitman, an identity thief and a money launderer are among eight prisoners freed by the US as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
The convicts were released in exchange for the release of 16 prisoners from Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
The prisoner exchange of 26 prisoners is the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.
The trade, between seven countries, started on Thursday at the Esenboga airport runway in Ankara, Turkey.
Among the plane’s occupants was the murderer Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.
Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, is one of eight prisoners released by the US as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
Krasikov was convicted of shooting dead 40-year-old Zelimkhan âTornikeâ Khangoshvili in broad daylight in a park in central Berlin in June 2019.
He cycled to the Georgian-born Chechen separatist and executed him in Berlin’s Kleine Tiergarten park in December 2021.
A German court called it a âstate-contracted murderâ on behalf of the Kremlin.
The Russian news agency The Insider also published the names of the seven others who were sent back to Russia.
Among them are cybercriminals Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin, who, according to the outlet, are being sent back from the US.
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 operation.
Russian businessman Klyushin was convicted of involvement in an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that saw him make about $93 million in securities trading based on confidential corporate information stolen from U.S. computer networks.
Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin has been convicted for his involvement in an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted him approximately $93 million
Couple Artem and Anna Dultsev were living under the aliases MarĂa Rosa Mayer Muños and Ludwig Gisch in Slovenia when they were accused of espionage
Vadim Konoshchenko, accused of supplying US electronics and ammunition to the Russian military, has reportedly become the latest prisoner to be released from the US.
Vadim Konoshchenko, accused of supplying US electronics and ammunition to the Russian military, is reportedly the latest prisoner to be released from the US.
Spanish-Russian journalist Pavel Rubtsov, accused of being a spy, has been released from Poland, The Insider reports.
The couple Artem and Anna Dultsev were sent back to Russia from Slovenia, where they were convicted of espionage.
The couple lived under the false names MarĂa Rosa Mayer Muños and Ludwig Gisch and were sentenced to 19 months in prison.
Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen, has also been released. He was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of espionage.
The convicts were released in exchange for 16 prisoners from the West, including three American citizens.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is set to be released after nearly 500 days in captivity.
Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen, has also been released. He was arrested on suspicion of espionage in 2022
Valery Seleznev was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the US for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 on charges of espionage that the United States says is unlawful. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia since 2018, is also involved in the trade.
Whelan, 54, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges. The US denies he was ever involved in spying operations.
Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmashevas was the last American citizen to be released by Russia.