first of all, he get vadim krasikov back? first of all. he has _ get vadim krasikov back? back? first of all, he has a policy, _ get vadim krasikov back? first of all, he has a policy, having - get vadim krasikov back? first of all, he has a policy, having beenl all, he has a policy, having been the head of the kgb, he believes they have to stand by their own. vadim krasikov was a kgb assassin, but more than that, a friend of putin. they used to shoot together, there were rumours he had been put in's bodyguard at one point. whatever it is, they were also friends. so, vladimir putin decides this thieves or spies ultimate honour, also has this personal connection with the man. this whole deal was to get him back. how connection with the man. this whole deal was to get him back.— connection with the man. this whole deal was to get him back. how was he auoin to deal was to get him back. how was he going to use — deal was to get him back. how was he going to use his _ deal was to get him back. how was he going to use his prisoner _ deal was to get him back. how was he going to

door, vadim krasikov. _ of mr cursive golf? door, vadim krasikov, who _ of mr cursive golf? krasikov, who saw— of mr cursive golf? door, vadim krasikov, who saw a _ of mr cursive golf? door, vadim krasikov, who saw a picture - of mr cursive golf? door, vadim i krasikov, who saw a picture there, he is currently serving a life sentence in germany or was, until today, serving a life sentence for the murder in 2019 in berlin's park, of an egyptian georgian dissident, who shot at point—blank range and the court called this a state—sponsored murder by russia, which the kremlin denied. he is somebody who investigators have said is a colonel in russia's fsb intelligence service and someone who president putin has made it very clear he wants back. in other words, the kremlin looks after its own. and he is very much a high—profile prisoner, who russia has called for the kremlin has called a patriot. and we are hearing that he is on a plane to ankara. to answer the second part of your question, why turkey, because turkey has got good relations with both sides, with nato and with moscow

vadim krasikov, sentenced to life in prison by a court in berlin.ding to western investigators, he killed georgian citizen zelimkhan khandashvili. in august '19 shot him dead in tiergarton park. this character was preparing an attack on a school in beslan. he was involved in preparing a train explosion in the moscow metro in 2004, and also participated in attacks on russian soldiers. in an interview with vladimir putin and tucker carlson this winter, this was clearly discussed. during the event in the caucasus. do you know what he did? i don’t want to say it, but i’ll say it anyway, he laid out our captured soldiers on the road, and then drove a car over their heads, what kind of person and person was he? is this? well, a patriot was found who liquidated one of his european capitals. the west handed over artyom and... the dultsevs to russia, they got off the plane in kaliningrad. the couple were sentenced in slovenia to one year and 7 months in prison for espionage; they spent approximately the same amount of time in custody and have now been releas

the big fish was vadim krasikov. that is the latest. >> it is important to put this in perspective for these families. evan gershkovich was kept in a nine by 12-foot cell in a prison that during the soviet era was known for the torture of journalists. now he is free. that part of your reporting of a senior administration official told fox that the wind was taken out of the sails of the biden team for a moment. it was jake sullivan who said we have made an assurance to this family of evan gershkovich at the state of the union. we are committed to freeing evan and paul whelan. it appears to have happen. there seems to be some resolve among the leadership in the biden white house to make this moment possible. >> we should also mention the officials we spoke to were asked about marc fogel who is not part of this release. we are told that they made every effort to get him included. it was just not going to happen this time in those efforts continue. obviously very good news. we should point out that these 16 people who ar

2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hit man vadim krasikovven men are charged with violent disorder after a riot breaks out in hartlepool linked to monday's mass stabbing in southport. the body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh is now in qatar where a special prayer service has been held before his burial north of doha. hello. welcome to the programme. within the past couple of hours presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris have greeted american detainees at an airbase outside washington, following their release from russia as part of a prisoner swap — the largest since the cold war. the plane carrying the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, ex—marine paul whelan and leading kremlin critic, vladimir kara—murza landed late at night. family members of those who'd been detained — some for several years — were there, as emotional scenes played out on the tarmac. president biden said he was grateful for the diplomatic co—operation from many other countries involved in the negotiations. in total, ten russ

arrived at the airfield to directly meet the russians who had returned home on exchange. first vadim krasikov comes down, collected, restrained, the same patriot about whom, apparently, vladimir putin spoke in february in an interview with tucker carlson, whom he shook hands with and hugged today. following hand in hand are the four dultsev family, anna and artyom and their two minor children, and this, of course, is the most emotional scene of the evening. the dulceva couple were arrested in slovenia at the end of 2022, their children were sent to foster families. if it weren’t for the current exchange with their mother and father, they might not have returned, so that anna’s tears and artyom’s smile are like the embarrassment of their son and daughter. so easy to understand, vladislav klyushin, vadim konoshchenok, pavel rubtsov, by the way, the only one who goes down the ladder with things, mikhail makushin, roman seleznev, eight russians detained in prison in nato countries, all will be presented with state awards, the president emphasized, and specially thanked those involved in military

tell us more about vadim krasikov. but also what the reaction is and how this is playing in russia right now. what do we know? >> reporter: you're right to describe krasikov in that way. it points to another part of all of this. it's bittersweet. no doubt. no doubt that at the "wall street journal" and across the journalistic community, there is absolute relief at the release of evan gershkovich and for the families of those being released today, it is an opportunity, a chance finally to just breathe out. but that being said, we are -- america and the west is handing back to russia a number of people who there will be people in the days ahead, they will raise questions about them. vadim krasikov, described by president putin as a patriot. putin describing him as liquidating that chechnyaen in that park in germany. he's an assassin. he was in germany for murder. and that is why the chancellor of germany, in a statement today, in so many words, describes this as a very very difficult decision to make. i think it's also w

river, in a spray, but there were witnesses, this allowed the police were hot on the trail of vadim krasikovo initially appeared in the case under the name sokolov, indicated in the false passport. at the time of his arrest later during the investigation and trial, krasikov behaved calmly. five policemen with machine guns forced him to lie down on the ground to surrender, but only after he had assessed the situation with an icy, calculating gaze, the still-impressed policeman told the court. he always kept himself under control. he left the conversations to his lawyer. which putin sends with this exchange to all russians who continue to secretly work for him abroad, if they are caught, they just need to hang on like krasikov, wait and watch, don’t say anything, and the kremlin will take care of them. negotiations on the exchange of krasikov for one of the western citizens convicted in russia began 2 years ago. usa at first they tried to bargain for britney greiner, an american basketball player who received a sentence for drug smuggling, but the matter did not move forward precisely because

vadim krasikov, sentenced to life in prison by a court in berlin conclusion.ccording to western investigators, he killed georgian citizen zelimkhan khangashvi. bandit during the events in the caucasus, do you know what he did? i don’t want to say it, but nevertheless i will say it, he laid out our captured soldiers on the road, and then drove a car over their heads, what kind of person is this and is he a person? well... there was a patriot who eliminated him in one of the european capitals. the west handed over artyom and anna dultsev to russia; they got off the plane in kaliningrad. the couple were sentenced in slovenia to one year and 7 months in prison freedom in the espionage case. they spent approximately the same amount of time in custody, have now been released, and were exchanged accordingly. the western press wrote about the spouses as russian spies under deep cover; they say the dultsevs posed as citizens of argentina. mikhail mikushin also returned, accused of espionage in norway. he worked at the arctic university of tramsø. the spanish journalist

2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hit man vadim krasikov. seven men have been charged with violent disorder after a riot broke out in hartlepool, linked to the mass stabbing in southport on monday. the body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh, who was assassinated in iran, is now in qatar where he'll be buried. these are the live pictures coming in from doha's largest mosque where a special service will be held. the edinburgh festival is under way with hundreds of events in the city over the next month. we'll be live in the scottish capital. hello, i'm kylie pentalow. within the past couple of hours presidentjoe biden and vice president, kamala harris, have greeted american detainees at an airbase outside washington following their release from russia as part of a prisoner swap — the largest since the cold war. the plane carrying the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, ex—marine paul whelan and leading kremlin critic, vladimir kara—murza landed late at night. family members of those who'd been detained — some

frees 2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hitman vadim krasikovthe body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh is now in qatar, where a special prayer service has been held before his burial north of doha. in the uk, seven men are charged with violent disorder after a riot breaks out in hartlepool linked to monday's mass stabbing in southport. and it's day seven of the olympics, with 25 medals up for grabs. netherlands takes gold in the women's rowing pair final and croatia wins for the men. hello. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris have greeted american detainees at an airbase outside washington, following their release from russia as part of a prisoner swap — the largest since the cold war. the plane carrying the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, ex—marine paul whelan and leading kremlin critic vladimir kara—murza landed late at night. family members of those who'd been detained — some for several

back to russia, convicted assassin vadim krasikov, identified by a german court as having links to the state, and nine others the kremlin wanted back. for paul whelan, this ends an ordeal that began more than five years ago when he was arrested in russia, convicted of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison. it is a charge she has always fiercely denied -- charge he has always fiercely denied. president biden gave his reaction. >> it says a lot about the united states that we worked relentlessly to free americans who are unjustly held around the world, but it also says a lot about us that this includes the release of russian political prisoners. they stood up for democracy and human rights. their own leaders through them in prison. the united states helped secure their release. >> america has repeatedly accused moscow of jailing u.s. citizens with the aim of treating them for russians jailed abroad. for family and friends of evan gershkovich, paul whelan and dissidents like kuara-murza. for the kremlin, it got what it's wanted, they got their agents back. for moscow, the take away f

vadim krasikov, sentenced to life in prison by a court in berlin according to western investigators,lled georgian citizen zelimkhan khandashvili. in august '19 he shot him in tiergarton park. this character was preparing an attack on a school in beslan. he was involved in preparing a train explosion in the moscow metro in 2004, and also participated in attacks on russian soldiers. in the interview with vladimir putin, and with carlson this winter, they clearly talked about this, sitting in one country, in the country of an ally of the united states. a man who, for patriotic reasons, liquidated one of the european capitals of a bandit, during the events in the caucasus, do you know what he did? i don’t want to say it, but i’ll say it anyway, he laid out our captured soldiers on the road, and then the cars drove over their heads. what kind of person is this and is it a person? well, a patriot was found who liquidated one of the european capitals. the west handed over artyom and anna dultsev to russia; they got off the planes in kaleningrad. the couple were sentenced in slovenia to one

the deal sees 2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries set free, including hitman vadim krasikovber of russia's security service. prayers for ismail haniyeh — the political leader of hamas who was assassinated in iran on wednesday. venezuela's foreign minister claims the us is behind a coup attempt over the disputed re—election of president maduro. team gb wins three gold medals today in paris. in the past few minutes the equestrian team took gold controversy in the boxing. team gb wins three gold medals today in paris. in the past few minutes the equestrian team took gold in the team jumping final. hello, thank you for being with us. russian dissidents released in a prisoner swap with the west are expected to speak publicly in the coming hours. vladimir kara—murza shared this image of himself, along with ilya yashin and andrei pivovarov, saying there would hold a news conference in bonn shortly. kara—murza, on the right, is a dual russian—british citizen and prominent opposition politician. yashin, in the centre, and pivovarov are also well—known kremlin critics. the russian pri

russia admits vadim krasikov — the convicted hit man released in the swap — was an fsb agent.erving a life sentence for the murder of a former chechen rebel commander in berlin. the funeral ceremony has been held in qatar for the hamas political leader, ismail haniyeh, who was assassinated in iran on wednesday. to the paris olympics — where team gb have won their third gold medal of the day — with showjumping champions joining top winners in trampolining and double sculls rowing. hello. thank you for being with us. russian dissidents released in the biggest east west prisoner swap since the cold war are expected to speak publicly in the next few hours. vladimir kara—murza shared this image of himself, along with ilya yashin and andrei pivovarov, saying there would hold a news conference in bonn shortly. the russian prisoners released by the west include convicted hit man vadim krasikov — an agent and hit man who shot dead a kremlin opponent in berlin five years ago. also.. a family of russian sleeper agents who were pretending to be argentines — they were so deep under cover t

the stumbling block for the german authorities was the release of russian officer vadim krasikov. to the german prosecutor's office , krasikov fired a glock clip at the chechen militant field commander zelimkhan khengashvili, a terrorist whom berlin on... monovtsev, in june 2004, with basayev, attacked the city of nazrain. according to russian intelligence services, khangashvili was involved in the murder of 200 people. according to the financial times, the final details of the deal were agreed upon just an hour before biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential campaign. the russians have relied on what they call special channels through which their intelligence services work with our intelligence services, which is why the director of the cia called his fsb colleagues of the russian intelligence service to come to a deal, which we learned about in early july, and then therefore the special channel senior cia and russian officials met in a neutral third country to develop. betrayal of karamurza, who called himself exclusively a russian politician, found a residence permit

, who is the primary quy vadim krasikov, who is the primary guy the kremlin once back, the man who isru and the svr. find intelligence agencies, along with the tru and the svr.— intelligence agencies, along with the tru and the svr. and well, you are still with — the tru and the svr. and well, you are still with us _ the tru and the svr. and well, you are still with us in _ the tru and the svr. and well, you are still with us in washington. - the tru and the svr. and well, you are still with us in washington. you| are still with us in washington. you mentioned this will be a real boost for president biden and also for kamala harris. can we assume, then, that you are looking at a bank of tvs in america and they are reporting this news, that this is a huge story in the us and that the fate of evan gershkovich and also paul whelan has been closely followed by americans over these past months?— followed by americans over these ast months? , ., , , ., past months? yes, absolutely. i mean it is on absolutely _ past months? yes, absolutely. i mean it is on absolutely every _ past months? yes,

after his arrest in germany, vadim krasikov refused all cooperation with the investigation and did notn give his name. now, when it came to the exchange , the ferg authorities required a formal petition from the prisoner for pardon, but even now the germans could not get anything from the russian. as a result, instead of the traditional pardon, germany was forced to formalize everything as a procedure for the deportation of a foreigner. the image of the unbending russian was complemented by the polyproof helmet that the germans put on vadim krasikov during the exchange. this is already footage taken in moscow. the president of russia shakes his hand. the patriot himself, when he served in alpha, he served together with some members of the presidential guard, who now work in the presidential guard, and naturally, they also greeted each other yesterday, when they saw each other, with a strong handshake, vladimir putin welcomed vladislav klyushin, vadim konoschonok, pavel rubtsov, roman seleznev and mikhail mikushin, many of them were captured by american intelligence services and brought

russian who was detained in germany for a murder he committed in berlin, his name is vadim krasikov, o fought against the russians. in the eyes of russians, krasikov is a valuable person. they wanted him back, he was at the center of these negotiations. the germans and americans negotiated. biden and scholz met then scholz told biden, having received a request from you, i will do it. biden turned to his aides seated next to him. said: do it. i think one of the issues that is kind of the elephant in the room is the moral issue. this the point is that the people russia is releasing are people like evan, journalists who are simply doing their job. you know, for example, paul willan, who was unfairly accused of spying, this is something he denied, and of course, power. usa too. in exchange for them we see people released from us prisons and others who are serious criminals and have committed serious criminal acts. it's like a chessboard. what could prompt putin to make such an exchange? what could have motivated biden? diplomacy with hostage taking. these were innocent americans who were

return.— because he did get vadim krasikov return.ov return. what has the reaction in russia _ krasikov return. what has the reaction in russia been - krasikov return. what has the reaction in russia been to - krasikov return. what has the | reaction in russia been to this and how will mr putin spend this at home?— and how will mr putin spend this at home? needless to say, vladimir putin _ this at home? needless to say, vladimir putin was _ this at home? needless to say, vladimir putin was at _ this at home? needless to say, vladimir putin was at the - vladimir putin was at the apple, he welcomed the russians home and remember there's are all disposal may convicted criminals. in the case of one of them, in the us cyber credible. he embraced them and them as heroes are so he clearly spinning this as a for him. and as i say, i think his message to the russian people, particularly people who work for the intelligence services is we have your back, we will never let you rot in a western presence he was trying to use is to burnish his cred

— idea that of how important vadim krasikov was, the convicted colonel, and that— krasikov was, the convictedderstand. it also the prime _ far as we understand. it also the prime minister of slovenia again as i mentioned that president biden was pushing _ i mentioned that president biden was pushing again the involvement of two russian prisoners there. sol pushing again the involvement of two russian prisoners there. so i think that her— russian prisoners there. so i think that her campaign will make quite a bit about— that her campaign will make quite a bit about her role in this, that it is a shared _ bit about her role in this, that it is a shared and reflected glory by the biden— is a shared and reflected glory by the biden administration and by harris _ the biden administration and by harris and the biden government so she can _ harris and the biden government so she can really take this and run with— she can really take this and run with it — she can really take this and run with it in — she can really take this and run with it in her push for the white house — with it in her push for t

the united states and germany, they also had an interest in the exchange, it is noteworthy that vadim krasikovsidents of russia and belarus, because the germans long ago agreed to give up krasikov, handing washington the key to the success of the entire operation and providing the democrats with one of the few major trump cards in the election campaign, as sütdoche zeitung writes, putin thereby demonstrated to russian citizens is the thesis true that europe is subordinate to the will of the united states; if they put pressure, germany will agree to hand over even such a criminal as krasikov? on february 9 at the white house, scholz said: the us and germany, in order to force the german chancellor to agree to the exchange of a key figure, the us presidential administration put pressure on him for a very long time from different sides. biden, as the new york times writes, personally called european leaders, asking and demanding to press scholz. forced to be friends after they pushed the limits his hands. 52% of germans approve of the exchange, 20 do not approve and 28 have mixed feelings about i

from the plane of a special russian detachment onto russian soil is a man whom the media calls vadim krasikove president shakes his hand and then hugs him. vadim without exaggeration, krasikov can be called one of the key figures in this historical exchange. in germany he was accused of killing a caucasian terrorist and bandit. zelemkhan khangashvili and sentenced to life imprisonment, while germany called the bloody executioner khangashvili a peaceful citizen, although the germans knew very well that during the chechen wars khangashvili was the field commander of a squad of murderers. a group of militants who were already trapped there, these are russians, and he saved them, for this, aslan maskhadov gave him a small team, i definitely didn’t i know, 600 people, so he also became a commander. he was a liaison between the basayev and maskhadov groups and trained suicide bombers. he was involved in the massacres of more than two hundred people, many of whom he killed personally with extreme cruelty. back in 2015 , krasikov was not pardoned, but deported by decision of the ministry of justice.

in germany, for example, insinuations continue about vadim krasikov, an fsb officer who was sentenced to life by the germans and now exchanged, who served in the alpha special unit, along with several active members of the presidential guard. bilt tabloid headline. tiergarten killer, free. tiergarten, because in this park in berlin in 1919 the militant zelimkhan khangashvili was shot dead. bilt, of course, is silent about who he was. although vladi. this is fighting on the side of the separatists on caucasus, he is not georgian by nationality, this man was on our wanted list, this is a man who took an active part in militants, and a very tough, bloody man, in only one of the actions in which he took part, he killed 98 people , he was one of the organizers of the explosions in... in the moscow metro, extremists and foreign agents handed over to the west rushed to give interviews and announce press conferences, at this one in the boom, yashin, brewers, karamurza, as usual, pretends to be victims, but not really it turns out that a delegation of doctors came to each of us this morning, a

the first to descend is former special forces officer vadim krasikov. anna and artyom dultsev , the spouses walk along the ramp with their children, and it seems that only here, having stepped onto her native land, anna allows herself to give free rein to her emotions. one can only guess what feelings they experience when they are in their twenty-second year. artyom and anna were arrested, their children were taken away from them, but only 2 years later, parents and children were finally reunited, the daughter tightly takes her mother with both hands, vladimir putin hugs and hands anna flowers, another bouquet for his daughter, shaking hands with his son and head of the family, artyom dultsev. also near the ramp, the president greeted vladislav klyushin, vadim konoschonok, pavel rubtsov, roman seleznev and mikhail mikushin with a strong handshake. together with vladimir putin, the russians who returned to their homeland are met by the heads of law enforcement agencies and the external director of the service. which they don’t forget about you for a minu

russian officer vadim krasikov.is was a good deal, although from scholz's remarks one could clearly see that there was nothing triumphant about it, unlike what is happening in moscow and washington, where the joy is much stronger. among all the reasons, us solidarity certainly plays a role, as well as pressure from them. we know that biden wanted to free gershkovich, but the germans are not happy after the prisoner exchange. about the return of the ukrainian german mercenary. krieger, sentenced to death in minsk for terrorist attacks and espionage, is not remembered in berlin. and today, rare footage of vadim krasikov from prison is being broadcast on television. here he is, in his robe, walking with quick, confident steps among the bars and barbed wire. more details about the reaction of berlin and washington in a few minutes in the reports of our staff correspondents mikhail antonov and dmitry melnikov. but first, a remarkable fragment from the report. it also shows how deeply the russians have penetrated various

>> well, i think the release of vadim krasikov was the biggest one. recall what he was in jail for, what he was serving a life sentence in germany for. he had shot a man on orders from the russian government in broad daylight in the middle of the afternoon at a berlin park, with children around, families around, it was a really gruesome murder. it was not easy for the slovenians, for example, to give up illegals, russian illegals, basically sleeper agents. norway had to give people, poland gave someone up. and to president biden's point, again if you treat your alliances like a lone shark treats basically a tardy customer, you're not going to get this kind of deal. because it is not just, you know, a what have you done for me lately arrangement. it is not -- it is not as transactional as president trump would want you to believe. there has to be investment, that doesn't immediately pay off, doesn't immediately pay off in cash and money. and then you can get this kind of stuff done. but, again, if you demean allies, if you insult them while cozying up

the first to come down is vadim krasikov, collected, restrained, the same patriot that, judging by everyone, vladimir putin spoke about in february in an interview with tucker carlson, whom he shook hands with and hugged today. following hand in hand were four at once, the dultsev family, anna and artyom and two. their minor children, and this is, of course, the most emotional scene this evening. the dulceva couple were arrested in slovenia at the end of 2022, their children... were sent to foster families, if not for the current exchange with their mother and father, they might not have returned, so anna’s tears and artyom’s smile are like the embarrassment of their son and daughters, so easy to understand. vladislav klyushin, vadim konoshchenok, pavel rubtsov, by the way, the only one who goes down the ladder with things, mikhail makushin, roman seleznev, eight russians detained in prison in nato countries. everyone will be nominated for state awards, he emphasized. president, and separately. thanked those involved in military service. first of all, i want to congratulate you all on your

the prisoners released by the west include convicted hit man vadim krasikov. fsb security service, krasikov was serving a life sentence in germany for the murder of a former chechen rebel commander, whom he shot dead in broad daylight in a berlin park in 2019. he was returned to moscow, along with seven other released russian prisoners and two children. at an airbase outside washington, presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris greeted the returned americans. the plane carrying the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, and former marine paul whelan landed late at night. president biden said he was grateful for the diplomatic co—operation that led to the swap. our north america correspondent will grant sent this report from the andrews air force base. cheering. greeted by a presidential embrace. after more days behind bars than they'd care to remember, finally a night they'll neverforget. the arrival of the three americans at andrews air base marks the end of their ordeal in russia, and the defining image of the biggest prisoner sw

here are a few words about those who returned, this is vadim krasikov.enced to life imprisonment. according to western investigators, he killed one of the leaders. extremists, organizer of the moscow metro terrorist attack, georgian citizen zelimkhan khangeshvili. well, now on your screens, artyom and anna dultsev, were spouses. about the same spent in custody, now released, this is a touching moment, it is important that minor children were returned, otherwise they could have been handed over to social services and they, of course, could have lost their parents. spanish journalist of russian origin pablo gonzalez, also known as pavel rubtsov, who was arrested in poland, has been returned , mikhail mikushin, accused of espionage in norway, has also returned, as well as roman seleznev, kidnapped in 1414 by american intelligence services in the maldives. and sentenced in the united states to 27 years in prison for operations in cyberspace. russian it entrepreneur vladislav klyushin, detained 3 years ago in switzerland at the request of washington. now i wa

it into action for quite a long time, and the conversation was very much about the release of vadim krasikovom the german justice sentenced to life imprisonment for the liquidation of the chechen field commander zelemkhan khangashvili here in berlin on august 23, 9, he was shot in little thurgarton park, and for quite a long time the federal... the republic of germany withstood the pressure that was exerted from washington and did not include vadim krasikov to the list for exchange. well, finally, it happened, although it required some effort on the part of the federal government. there is a corresponding statement on this subject by stefan hebbestreit, official representative of chancellor scholz. the german government did not take this decision lightly. the state's interest in carrying out the sentence of a convicted criminal was negated by the need to preserve physical freedom. well-being in some cases, ultimately the lives of innocent people imprisoned in russia. our commitment to protecting german citizens and solidarity with the united states were important motivators. we hope that all

in germany, for example, insinuations continue about vadim krasikov, an fsb officer who was sentencedlife by the germans and now exchanged, who served in the alpha special unit, along with several active members of the presidential guard. bilt tabloid headline. the tiergarten killer is free. tiergarton, because in this park in berlin in 1919 the militant zelimkhan khangashvili was shot dead. was one of the organizers of the explosions in the moscow metro, transferred to the west by extremis foreign agents rushed to give interviews and announce press conferences at this one in bonn yashin, pivovarov, kara murza, as usual , pretend to be victims, but it doesn’t work out very well, a delegation of doctors came to each of us this morning, about 10 people, probably wearing masks, yes, they woke us up at 8 am with a very dramatic look and said that we had received the results of your tests, do we have the results of your blood tests? we found that they were deficient in vitamin d. we could only see the sun through the screened windows. so, overall, we're actually fine. we didn’t know when t

the german prosecutor's office, for example, was against changing vadim krasikov, but the ministry ofustice made a different decision. in the end, they are home and that's the main thing. the president after. they provide only subtitles, and the print media immediately started talking about the unprecedented nature of the deal. american publications unanimously assesses successful negotiations as extremely complex and historic. cnn notes that the dialogue between the countries took many months. german newspapers claim that representatives of the intelligence services of russia, germany and the united states began discussing the exchange last spring in riyadh, and the decisive round of consultations took place in turkey. british. emphasizes that the return to their homeland of such a number of convicts abroad was the largest since the cold war. well, the guardian draws attention to the reaction of the democrats led by biden, who are credited with a huge diplomatic victory ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. well, in the united states , meanwhile, they met their own. the plane

personally arrived at the airfield to directly meet russians who returned. home on exchange, vadim krasikov is the first to come down, collected, restrained, the same patriot about whom, apparently, vladimir putin spoke in february in an interview with tucker carlson, and whom he shook hands with and hugged today. next, four people joined hands at once, the dultsev family, anna and artyom and their two minor children, and this, of course, is the most emotional scene of the evening. now i want to appeal to those of you who are directly related to military service, i want to thank you for your loyalty to the oath, your duty and hand, which forgot about you not for a minute, here you are, yes, all of you will be introduced. we will see you again, talk about your future, now i just want to congratulate you on your return. thank you very much, congratulations, this conversation continued right at the airport, without a journalist’s camera and of course without cuts, everyone whose path home turned out to be so winding definitely has something to tell the head of state. the real hero, along with

vadim krasikov, sokolov, was sentenced in germany to life in prison for murder in tergarten in 2019 .e was accused of eliminating the executioner from the caucasus. as i told you his lawyer, the prisoner spent 23 hours a day in his cell, no external contacts, no communication with other prisoners, hour 15, walking in a yard surrounded by barbed wire, considered especially dangerous, this is the one who was considered dangerous by the german authorities... considered peaceful and friendly zelimkhan khangashvili in company with terrorists involved in the seizure of a school in beslan. here shamil basaev, the organizer of the hostage taking at dubrovka, in may and august 2003 zelimkhan khangashvili personally shot amonovites, in june 2004 with basayev attacked the city of nazran. according to russian intelligence services, he is involved in the murder of more than 200 people. the fact that khangashvili was a cruel executioner said and'. on the road, and then drove the car over their heads, what kind of person and person is this? whether it was, well, a patriot was found who eliminated hi

the first to come down is vadim krasikov, collected, restrained, the most patriotic, about whom, apparently, vladimir putin spoke in february in an interview with tucker carlson, whom he shook hands with and hugged today. following hand in hand were four people at once, the dultsev family, anna and artyom and their two minor children. and this, of course, is the most emotional scene of this evening. the dulcevo couple were arrested in slovenia at the end of 2022, their children were sent to foster families, if not for the current exchange with their relatives mom and dad, they might not come back, so anna’s tears and artyom’s smile, the embarrassment of their son and daughter are so easy to understand. by the way, the only one who goes down the ladder with things, mikhail makushin, roman seleznev, eight russians detained in prison in nato countries, will all be presented with state awards, the president emphasized, and specially thanked those related to military service. first of all, i want to congratulate you all on your return to your homeland. now i want to address those of you who are

transferred to a bus and there they saw the most notable participant in the exchange, fsb officer vadim krasikove russians were put on one bus, he was put alone separately surrounded by five representatives of the special services. different countries, when all 10 participants in the exchange, eight adults and two child, the final stage of the operation began, the russians were taken on board the tu-204, there was an atmosphere of support on the plane, our special services officers were constantly asking if anyone needed help, many of the former prisoners were talking to each other, but the dultsevs had a conversation with the children, we told the children that we were russian, that they were russian, that we were the dultsevs, sophie was distracted from her work, he had toys, she was watching something on the screen, i only noticed emotions in her, that she began to cry a little, as dani also said, but he treats this more calmly, but very positively, the main thing for us is family, and this is what keeps us going, and family is the country, a few hours later they flew home, and there in the g

know vladimir putin wanted to return of an assassin who is serving a life sentence in germany, vadim krasikovsome of the german government who did not want to do this and all these pieces and players had to come into place at the right time with the right conversations for this to happen. but yet ultimately matthew vladimir putin had to say yes and why do you think he said yes now i think this is a great deal for vladimir putin. and he has managed to basically get back a kremlin assassin, a colonel in the fsb, who killed in broad daylight the chechen dissident in the center of the german capital. in exchange, as well as a lot of other people as well, who russia is interested in and may have information that russia wants to keep to itself and not be disclosed to its rivals. in exchange for a group of individuals who, for all intensive purposes did nothing wrong. people like evan gershkovich, who was doing his job as a journalist, he was accused and convicted of espionage, of spying for the cia, but he categorically denied it as did the u.s. government paul whelan, as well. this former marine w

the one who is serving was serving a life sentence in germany and assassin former fsb official vadim krasikov. how big of a deal mean the germans did not want to let him go understandably, know exactly because you know, this is about rule of law. and when we were trying to get the germans to release him. and the reason we wanted to release him is because this was the number one ask for vladimir putin because this is one of their own. this is an fsb, their equivalent of cia colonel who is assigned to go to germany and kill a dissident, someone who they just thought was a threat, right? >> a former chechen, yes, killing him and the germans had two people that get could get out life sentence, long sentence, and that was probably helpful in sealing this deal. >> to you both geoff i'll start with you i want to go back to what mj was talking about as we wait for president biden to speak, that reporting about the sunday that he announced that he was going to step out of the race and that along with that kind of drama and pressure and life-changing democracy changing situation, he's also working the

at the same time , germany of the russian vadim krasikov is officially.ose and trusting cooperation with the united states and european partners, after months of confidential negotiations with the russian side, it has now been possible to achieve the release of people who... were illegally imprisoned in russia as political prisoners. russian diplomats in the united states we remind you that there are still dozens of our compatriots in american prisons, and russia will continue to make every effort to release them as soon as possible. dmitry melnikov and pavel kostrikov, news from washington. negotiations on the exchange of prisoners between the fsb and the cia required delicate chains of international interaction. about this today. told in the kremlin. as the press secretary of the russian president dmitry peskov said, it was possible to return our fellow citizens to their homeland largely thanks to a tough position vladimir putin. at one time, peker carlson asked during an interview to extradite the americans who were in prison at that time. but he spoke

key to this entire deal was the release of vadim krasikov a russian serving a life sentence in russiaurder for killing a chechen fighter. as president biden noted initially germany said they cannot release him even though it was clear that putin would not be releasing any americans unless they got him back. germany originally relented but they got 12 germans back so germany's involvement was

when i heard vadim krasikov's family was getting ready to go to the white house next day, in my circles, that was a signal that the deal that you very elaborately and precisely talked about, this is a long tale that goes way back, lots of different pieces, one i felt was moving was joy because none of these people should've been in jail. this is a fantastic achievement for american diplomacy. i want to underscore this is a team effort, starting with the president, sullivan, antony blinken, bill burns at the cia played his role. roger carson's, it was a team effort and a team effort as you rightly underscored with our allies. this does not happen without close allies that you value and value us and at the end of the day, people keep saying since the cold war, nothing like this has happened since the cold war, i know the cold war pretty well, this is the most complex negotiation ever in the history of dealing with moscow and it comes about as a result of serious diplomacy with close allies. >> chris, can you talk about the precise angle that the ambassadors talking about, the multilateral

among the released russians is also vadim krasikov, convicted in germany; vladimir putin personally spokebout him in interview with tucker carlson, sits in one country, an ally of the united states. what kind of person is this and is it a person? well, there was a patriot who liquidated one of his european capitals, did he do it on his own initiative or not? that's another question. during the exchange procedure, vadim krasikov was allegedly led in such a helmet, as if he were a particularly dangerous criminal. i want to thank you for your loyalty to the oath of duty and the hand that was not for a minute about you, here you are, all of you will be represented by the state, we are with you yet see you, let's talk about your future. now i just want to congratulate you on your return home, thank you very much, congratulations, thank you, thank you, among the freed russians was roman seleznev, he was kidnapped by american intelligence services in the maldives in 1414, sentenced in the usa to 27 years for cyber fraud, we now have his father valery in direct contact via skype. hello, thank you

we have been hearing from the turkish presidency and they have been talking thereabout vadim krasikovin 2019 for the murder of a kremlin critic. he was serving a life sentence in berlin. and also, let mejust to life sentence in berlin. and also, let me just to check if we have any more information about who else is on this list of 26. we are seeing from our colleagues on bbc news that a friend of the british russian national, vladimir kara—murza, has told the bbc has released is, to quote his friend, practically imminent, that he is on the way already in germany and that it is absolutely great news. let's see if we can get any more confirmation of that with sarah rainsford, who is our eastern europe correspondent in berlin. sarah, do you have any updates for us?— berlin. sarah, do you have any updates for us? no, it is also fast movin: updates for us? no, it is also fast moving and _ updates for us? no, it is also fast moving and yet — updates for us? no, it is also fast moving and yet so _ updates for us? no, it is also fast moving and yet so mysterious - updates for us? no, it is al

among the russians released by the west — convicted hit man vadim krasikov — an fsb agent who shot deadommander in berlin five years ago. at an airbase outside washington, presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris greeted the returned americans — the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, and former us marine paul whelan. president biden said he was grateful for the diplomatic co—operation that led to the swap. on the tarmac, evan gershkovich spoke about the political prisoners who are still in russian jails. there's one thing i'd like to say. it was great to get on that bus and see a lot of... you know, notjust americans and germans but russian political prisoners. ijust spent a month in prison where there is a whole... basically, everybody i sat with is a political prisoner, and nobody knows them publicly, they have various political beliefs so they are not all connected with navalny supporters, which i think, everybody knows about them... today was a really touching moment to see all of them, and i think it would be... i think we could potentially do some

and, you know, witnesses in the case against vadim krasikov and family members of his actually, his victim he killed in berlin, were not informed about the exchange and had to, you know, to inform themselves by reading the news about the swap. this is also something that goes against the value of protecting the interests of the victims. and also there is a legal argument saying if we stop treating our own, verdicts seriously, then the deterrence of ourjudicial system will suffer over time. so it's controversial. it's not that there is euphoria. people are happy for those who came back or got out, um, into freedom. but there is also a lot of concern. a woman will be able to eat for the first time in three years after surgeons in the uk corrected a weight loss operation she had in turkey. pinkyjolley almost died twice from infection due to her treatment abroad and the cost to the nhs of saving her life has been over £100,000. just a warning that this report, from our health correspondent michele paduano, contains images of surgery. doctors at this hospital planning to make a small pouch and

frees 2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hitman vadim krasikovseven men have been charged with violent disorder after a riot broke out in hartlepool, linked to the mass stabbing in southport on monday. the body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh, who was assassinated in iran on wednesday, is now in qatar where he'll be buried later. these are the live pictures coming in from doha's largest mosque where a special service will be held. more questions for the bbc over its handling of the huw edwards scandal. the culture secretary asks the corporation to see if it can recoup any of his pay. hello, i'm kylie pentelow. in the past couple of hours presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris greeted detainees from russia. let's ta ke let's take these live pictures. they have been arriving at the us military base. we understand they are en route to a medical facility in texas. we are waiting for the people to appear before they are taken to a medical facility in texas. obviously after spending all that time in prison. we will keep you up