at the time of his arrest later during the investigation and trial, krasikov behaved calmly.e 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 of the position of germany. everyone in berlin was against it, especially foreign minister berbuk, who feared that krasikov’s release would jeopardize the peaceful existence of other fig

krasikov also knew.ny signals that the exchange sent to the world, the newspaper zyucheiting especially highlights the following: however, much more important is the signal that putin is sending 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 beautiful people, wait, watch, say nothing, and the kremlin about them take care. negotiations on the exchange of krasikov for one of the western citizens convicted in russia began 2 years ago. the united states initially tried to bargain for britney greiner, an american basketball player who received a sentence for drug smuggling, but the matter did not move precisely because of the position of germany, everyone in berlin was against it, especially foreign minister berbuk, who feared that the release of krasikov would jeopardize a quiet existence other fighters for the freedom of ichkeria who settled in europe with blood on hands. greiner was eventually exchanged for viktor but, b

will be released, please, so-and-so, that krasikov will be released, but at the same time they willot give navalny’s symbol, but at the same time, they will not give navalny, of course, this was their main idea, that in principle the parameters of the exchange are clear. this exchange will take place at all because biden is interested in it, the americans need to be released, but without navalny, well, it was such a cynical, cruel game of theirs, on the other hand, i always told you and now i will say that i do not understand the logic of people at all , i will never be convinced by the harsh imprisonment and then. realizing that they will be put in prison, and then they will have to pay for them, let's say, all these russian bandits and spies. well, navalny returned to russia from germany, we remember this after the poisoning, which he was counting on, karamurza also tried to triple it several times, in the end they gave him 25 years, the situation with yashin is also strange, because he says that he would like to return to russia and continue his activities there, but he will not

this is the release of krasikov, a man who is known for his murder right in berlin in terganter park dashvili, a georgian citizen of chechen origin. this is a well-known political story murder, and this very story, of course , always interested putin, because we already know that krasikov is a personal acquaintance for him, this is a person who carried out some special confidential assignments, maybe not only putin, maybe all of this so- called of the ozero cooperative, and in addition to this murder of khongashvili, krasykov is known for being involved in the murder of several russian businessmen in the northwest. in the northwestern region of russia, and this is a person who served in federal security of the russian federation, and before that in the kgb, that is , this is just a person from the same corporation as putin, close to putin personally, i even believe that he was once his bodyguard during the st. petersburg period of putin's activities, when putin was the vice-mayor of st. petersburg, and of course in this situation, it was very important for putin to show that people w

in the exchange with russia, krasikov is a former colonel in the russian security service, serving a life sentence and germany for murdering a former chechen fighter in broad daylight in berlin in 2019, the kremlin has pushed to get krasikov back to russia, even pushing to have him released in 2022. but the death of russian opposition leader alexei navalny in prison in february set back negotiations since the german government wanted navalny in exchange for krasikov on the very day that he died, i saw evan's parents and i told them that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news, two weeks ago, russia finally agreed to the deal years of intense effort finally paying off. now, obviously, pam, a joyful day for the families that you saw in our peace there, but for the families of americans and so we're still detained in russia. this is an emotional and challenging day. marc fogel, an american teacher at the angle american school in moscow, who serving a 40 year prison sentence facing charges of smuggling drugs. his family said he was bring marijuana

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

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

and told him: great, and by and large, after but krasikov, this was the second such russian prisoner in western prisoners, and it was very important for putin to make sure that he came out on freedom, but there was such a problem that krasikov was in germany, germany does not often go to such an exchange. so putin needed the united states to be interested in releasing its citizens, for those united states citizens to be an important target of the american administration, for the american administration to cooperate with the german government to release krasikov, that was such an important point, you know that the russians started simply taking american citizens hostage, this is how our colleague from... citizenship, a former marine, our colleague from radio liberty, and here, now let's look at american interests, it was very important for joseph biden to release these people during his presidency, because the biggest nightmare of any american president is that happened with jimmy carter. in the last period of his term, jimmy carter conducted negotiations with iran on the release of a

political prisoners, and even more, in principle , the west considered that if you change, say, krasikov to navalny, then germany will not have any special issues at all, because you know that... "navalny's fate was taken care of by angela merkel personally, after his poisoning, his were treated in sharite, and if it happened like that, you see, they release krasikov and along with it american citizens navalny, several more russian politicians, then this would not cause any indignation of public opinion, and they believed that putin is even ready to go for it, there is the information that roman abramovich talked to him about this, putin about this..." seemed to be interested, but just a few days before this exchange, navalny died, that is, it was such a cynical game that we had already agreed on the exchange, in principle, decided , who how, but but navalny died and the exchange was postponed for several months, because then they again began to think about who could be included in this exchange so that this exchange would have a humanitarian character, and these russians were included.

i think that putin has had one goal for quite some time, quite important, and that is to release krasikov, a man who is known for his murder right in berlin in terganter park, dashvili, a georgian citizen of chechen origin, this is a well-known story with a political murder, and this particular story, of course, always interested putin, because we already know that krasikov is a personal acquaintance for him, this... a person who carried out some special confidential assignments, it is important, not only putin, maybe of all this so-called ozer cooperative, and in addition to this murder of khangashvili, krasykov is known for being involved in the murder of several russian businessmen in the north-west, in the north-west region of russia, and this is a person who served in the federal security of the russian federation, and before that in the kgb. that is , this is simply a person from the same corporation as putin, who is personally close to putin, i even believe that he was once his bodyguard during the st. petersburg period of putin’s activities, when putin was still the vice mayor of

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

haris put pressure on scholz to facilitate the release of krasikov.edged that he was the biggest fish the russians were after. during the same trip, haris also requested a meeting with slovenian prime minister robert golub. according to a white house spokesman, chief. the purpose of this meeting was to put pressure on the prime minister to secure the release of two russian citizens, who were in slovenian custody, which the us believed was a top priority for the russians. all this is part, of course, of the election campaign, in the sense that the democratic cnn is trying to prove to everyone that kamala haris is not a faded moth who, during the 4 years of her vice presidency, has not been able to prove herself at all, but, as it turns out, is charismatic. leader who forced scholz to follow washington's lead, another important circumstance: the wall street journal has just reported that absolutely all former prisoners are about to be sent from russia signed the official form, there was also an empty field for comments, and evan gershkovich, he seems to

krasikov , if we rewind the story back, has some kind of special relationship with putin, when he was very early in the st. petersburg gebshnaya youth. yes, he was then carrying a briefcase after sobchak, if you remember, and then suddenly, i i don't remember, but i know it, that's how the scrotum suddenly worked, worked, and suddenly took it and died, the official version. but no one believed, including the family, that it was liquidation, and there is a certain version that vadim krasikov was involved in such a quick one. of putin's rapid transition from sobchak's briefcase to sobchak's place, well, then, as they say, to the kremlin, that's why these shots of a collective killer hugging and kissing an individual killer from the cheka and the fsb flew around the world. these are very revealing stories, and in general among all those spies, killers and other cybercriminals, everyone. putin promised them not only a red carpet, but also various goodies and awards. well , two more words about the other side, on the other side of the ocean, a plane also landed this morning, those who were

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

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

about what krasikov did and insulted his victim.you that person do to patriotic sentiments eliminated a bandit in one of the european capitals for putin getting these men back is part of his pledge to his whole security apparatus. >> the people who are keeping him in power, that if you get taken doing job for me, i will get you out. >> indeed, several russian spies and hackers are among those released in this prisoner swap but in the most prominent swaps over the past couple of years, putin's biggest prizes are men with serious blood on their hands krasikov and victor boot, nicknamed the merchant of death, a russian arms dealer traded for american basketball star brittney griner in 2022 following griner's imprisonment on cannabis charges, there was a lot of concern that releasing someone like that was completely disproportionate to release someone like that in exchange? or an american basketball player on a trumped up drug charge. >> victor boot cut a figure so legendary in the arms trafficking underworld that he's widely acknowledg

what has the reaction in — krasikov return. what has the reaction in russia _ krasikov return.n - 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 credentials as a great leader. d0 as a great leader. do you think this is going — as a great leader.

back. >> in an interview with tucker carlson in february, putin didn't mention krasikov name or thechens, but was glowing about what krasikov did and insulted his victim. >> but showing you i you could get all that person do to patriotic sentiments eliminated a bandit in one of the european capitals for putin, getting these men back is part of his pledge to his whole security apparatus. >> the people who are keeping him in power, that if you get taken doing a job for me, i will get you out. >> indeed, several russian spies and hackers are among those released in this prisoner swap. but in the most prominent swaps over the past couple of years, putin's biggest prizes are men with serious blood on their hands krasikov and victor boot, nicknamed the merchant of death, a russian arms dealer traded for american basketball star brittney griner in 2022. following griner's imprisonment on cannabis charges, there was a lot of concern that releasing someone like that was completely disproportionate to release someone like that in exchange? for an american basketball player on a trumped up dru

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

krasikov was wearing red pants and a blue jacket.dy on the bus he changed his clothes to board the russian board in a dark t-shirt and pants, and exchanged his helmet for a regular cap. we know little about him, he is a career officer who served among other things. in the caucasus, krasikov, he is an employee of the federal security service, he served in alpha, and it is interesting that when he served in alpha, he served together with some members of the presidential guard, the presidential guard, who now work in the presidential guard. that is why many of the president’s security guards gladly met their comrade with fsb director krasikov not only greeted him, they hugged tightly and alexander bortnikov asked him about something for a long time. at this moment, along the gangway... in spanish, the neighbors spoke of them as polite and quiet people. artyom dultsev founded this company, anna gallery. information about them came to local intelligence agencies from the cia. this is how the slavic media describe the moment of detention.

i mean, he wanted them a krasikov, who is the person who is being held. he is a russian fsb operative who is an assassin and he was being held in prison in germany. and so prison really wanted him back. he had a fixation on getting him back and he did. and then he got back. other people who i think you could argue kind of are the face of russian foreign the policy right now, you know, people who are trying to break sanctions, people who are carrying out hacking and other financial crimes et cetera. so he got people back and also the people that he let go, the russians that he let go. he considers i mean, there's no other word for it. craters, scum and let's let them go anyway is no respect him that trump said earlier, they see that vladimir putin would release evan gershkovich on day one of his presidency if he were reelected, why would putin do this deal now as opposed to wait to give trump an election gift? where, it. could, it, could it be the putin would've thought that the german chancellor would not help trump when it came to releasing a classic cou

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

this is krasikov, the liquidator of the odious executioner of the terrorist, why putin, meeting krasikovsaid great. we also have at our disposal the only photograph of anna dultseva, twenty years ago, when she met her husband, a scout on disco, all other biography is erased. see snow-white tu-204 of the special flight squad of russia lands at the government airport vnukov2 22:20 moscow time. historical event. the honor guard squads are preparing for the ceremonial welcome. putin in person at the ramp. here are the minister of defense belousov, the director of the svr naryshkin and the head of the fsb. the most touching footage of the dultsev family, convicted in slovenia for espionage, going down the stairs in tears. the tultsevs worked for russia and lived with their children, son and daughter, according to documents from latin america. putin gives a huge bouquet , hugs anna tightly and kisses her shoulder. the foreign intelligence officer burst into tears. immediately after the arrest, the slovenian authorities handed over the children to a foster family with the dultsev children, who

felt that the russian assassin krasikov would be key to any deal going forward. white house officials saying that she really emphasized the need for schultz to try to facilitate the transaction to secure ensure his release as part of any future of prisoner swap. we are also learning that the vice president had a meeting with the prime minister of slovenia where she adds outlines that there were two russian nationals that the u.s. believed were high priorities for the russian in any potential deal. and so she talked about the potential release of those individuals as well. it all comes as you heard, vice president biden a bit earlier today, stressing the importance of allies and partnerships. that is something the vice president's a likely will lead in on herself in the coming days as we potentially could hear more from her perspective about this deal. now, the white house has also said that vice president will be on hand when though because americans arrived here on us soil, president biden, vice president, planning to meet the two of them together at a time when

prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hit man vadim krasikov. seven 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 he'll be buried. these are live pictures coming in from doha's largest mosque where a special service will be held. the edinburgh festival begins 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 for several years, were there, as emotional scene

i think putin wanted krasikov back. he wanted victor boot back, and he got him and he got a number of other russian agents back to i think that's the factor that's most important to him. and if he thought he could do it with a good enough deal when it came up, he took it, you know, i've heard all this commentary about how these seven russian dissidents are being released. there's another way to look at that. they're being eggs because this was the practice of the czars. you want to get rid of your opponents, send them away from the country there, there, there may be free and western europe, which is certainly being better than being in a russian jail. they're exiled from their families, their exiled from their friends. and by the way, their friends and families are now hostages. the putin's government and they've been told by now will be soon your relative better behave or you'll pay for it. so i think putin's gotten the spring cleaning of russian jails. we don't know exactly the full value of the russians being returne

germany said they were not interested in exchanging krasikov for anyone else except navalny.as we can understand now, this swap was prepared to include alexei navalny but unfortunately he died in february. he was killed in a russian jail and was not included. >> sad for his family to hear those details today. dr. gold davis, could you explain to us the complexity of this? how difficult it is to bring 6, 7 countries together to pull off something of this magnitude? >> it is complex with respect to the sheer numbers of people being exchanged. as you said, it is also an additional layer of complexity that several other countries are involved and they had to negotiate with one another. it seems the kremlin fought for a deal with america and america would tell germany -- germany would simply do america's bidding. that was not the case. these were independent countries of course. there was a process of discussion and negotiation within the west, as well as with russia. in addition to that, i think it is very significant that it is not only the citizens of the two sides that have be

krasikov. i am not at all worried about that. mr. krasikov is effectively confined to russia, iran, venezuela, and maybe china for the rest of his life. so there's not a lot of chance that he would do harm to an american or any of our allies. >> and can you just give us to sense to take yourself back to the trevor reed portions. obviously, we're trying to get as many details as we can. the whereabouts included are being kept very sensitively for obvious reasons. since but what is happening at this particular moment when the news starts to trickle out? what do you believe? where do you believe they are in the process of whether physically getting these folks out or just conversation wise and i want to be clear, i'm speculating entirely for sure based on your experience with trevor reed eventually if this is true a an airplane will land on an airstrip somewhere in trevor's case, they use turkey in brittney's case, i believe they use the uae or saudi. >> i can't remember who knows that there will be an exchange on a tarmac somewhere. an

in germany, the exchange of krasikov was accepted ambiguously.latives of his victim said that the news of the russian killer's release was shocking to them. it was a difficult dilemma - said the head of the german foreign ministry, analena berbok, because while saving innocent people, germany had to release a hired killer from russia. by the way, the german newspaper dizeit wrote that it was berbok who was one of the ardent opponents of krasikov's exchange. she considered it wrong to negotiate with russia for the purpose of taking hostages, well, that's a big deal. the account is only a tool of foreign policy. this exchange is called unprecedented both in terms of format and scale. for the first time , the exchange agreement included not only those involved in espionage cases, but also several russian political activists convicted in russia for anti-war statements or actions. why putin agreed to this exchange just now, what trumps, so to speak, he gets from this exchange, as explained by alexander vershbow, former ambassador of the united states

sentenced to life in prison for killed the chechen warlord zilimkhan khangashvili, and for this krasikov was nicknamed the steergarten killer in the german... media, putin personally said that he wanted krasikov to be returned to russia, he said this at the beginning of the winter in an interview with tucker carlson, when he arrived to russia and talked with vladimir putin, and now we see that krasikov, he is probably the most famous, the most media, among all those returning, except for him , artem and anna dultsova will return from slovenia, they are supposedly husband and wife, yes they talked about themselves, but the wall street journal wrote that they worked for the russian svr, which can be translated as a foreign intelligence service, that is. these are quite powerful agents of russia, besides them, they disappeared from the letter in the united states, they could not find vladyslav klyushin, who cooperated with various russian power ministries of oleksandr oleksandr vinnyk, he was convicted of insider trading in shares, and also maksym marchenko, roman selezhnev, i just while i

in the eyes of russians, krasikov is a valuable person.iated. 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 taken off the streets in russia to be held in order to get something in return. an unprecedented exchange. the biggest captivity since the cold war involves at least 24 people. in the

the germans were ready to take back navalny in order to release krasikov. but then when he was killed that kind of put all kinds of questions in the air. so we are told that up until the last minute, biden was working the phones. he was trying to get the germans across the finish line and including on that final day, that when he two weeks ago when he announced he was dropping out of the race, he actually made a separate call so the slovenian prime minister to make sure that they were onboard because they had to russian spies in their custody. so he really was working to get this deal across the very same day we should note the russians say navalny wasn't killed in prison. they say he died in prison, but certainly they had a minimum hold responsibility for that. alex marquardt. thanks so much. and please do stand by. before bringing the panel just a quick roadmap on how the rest of the night will unfold for these release prisoners. president biden, vice president harris, and family members, they're going to head to andrew's to greet evan gershkovich, paul w

— 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 linchpin was a man named vadim krasikov, who is a russian assassin. he's a former member of the kgb and it's successor, the fsb he's rumored to be close to vladimir putin and he was in berlin and when he carried out an execution style killing of a former chechen rebel now, this was a man that putin has been trying to get out for quite some time, but the germans, because of just this the galling nature of this execution have refused to release him so there had been all kinds of combinations and permutations of deals that the u.s. put forward to russia that were rejected one after the other, because the germans refusing to release krasikov. and so for the past few months, for most of this year, in fact, joe biden himself, jake sullivan, the national security adviser, a bill burns, the cia director. they've been working on the germans on olig scholz, the chancellor to release krasikov eventually he relented back in june and i'm told to final proposal was put forward to the to the russians in june by the cia. a couple of weeks later in early july in a pho

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 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

the germans to date had rejected any of those offers to try and get them to involve that them krasikov. but when president biden met with olaf scholtz in the white house in the middle of january. we're told according to a senior administration official that a love shack both said to biden for you. i will do that do this, and that's what really set off. the next eight months of trying to put together a deal that included that krasikov, but there were fits and starts. it was not exactly easy when alexei navalny died in the middle of february, he was someone that they were thinking about, including as part of this deal. so they had to go back to the drawing board. it was by late march that us officials came up with a full list that could be included in this massive swap, including krasikov, president biden actually wrote a letter at that time to olaf scholtz on this topic. and then it was in early june. i want to bring you to the south more time months here, kate, we're germany agreed to include krasikov, then this list was presented to russian intelligence officers in a third country, a

putin, maybe all of this so-called ozer cooperative, and apart from this murder of khangashvili, krasikovown by the fact that he is involved in the kidnapping of several russian businessmen to the north-west, west, in the north-west region of russia, and this is a person who served in the federal the same security of the russian federation, and before that in the kgb, that is, this is just a person from the same corporation as putin, who is personally close to putin, i even believe that he was once his bodyguard during the st. petersburg period of putin's activities, when putin was the vice mayor of st. petersburg, and of course in this situation , it was very important for putin to show that people who carry out such orders of his cannot remain in prison, especially since in the case of krasiuk it was a question of life imprisonment, and by the way, i want to remind you that... i personally came to the airport to meet these people who were released, with krasiuk he hugged him and told him well, and by and large, after but, krasikov was the second such russian prisoner in the west, and it

i'm sure that the linchpin was krasikov.tever was done to try to get germany to agree to release krasikov was critical, because putin wants to be able to say to others that he was able to get somebody who performed the role of the fsb and was able to say to others that we also don't leave anybody behind. that's putin's game. the cia is very familiar with it. bill burns is very familiar with it. i'm sure it helped a great deal in putting together the pieces that ultimately produced this landmark deal. >> in fact, russia got back from slovenia a family of spies. some people there didn't know they were russians. it's like the americans who were moles and traded in 2010, i think. >> that's right. >> this creates tension between the fbi, which prosecutes some of the people, the americans that we gave up in previous -- the previous exchanges and the intelligence operatives so active in finding these spies. in this case, we were getting our allies to try to find people, russians who might be traded. >> i remember that very well. we

talking to him about how he might feel, if mr krasikov was released as part of a prisoner exchange.was a chechen field commander, so he had fought against russia in the chechnya war, he was a chukchi and georgian ethnic national, and he was killed in that park in berlin. his brother told me, if my brother's definite leads to at least some good in terms of at least some humanitarian outcome, then he said he wouldn't oppose that, although he said nobody was about to ask him about that, in any case. just interesting that the brother of the victim of that man, who has been described as an fsb hit man, a state assassin, the brother of the victim said that he doesn't oppose him being returned to russia, if it is to help at least some people be released from russia, from where he said there was, as he described it, a dictatorial regime. {lila said there was, as he described it, a dictatorial regime.— a dictatorial regime. 0k, sarah, thank you- _ a dictatorial regime. 0k, sarah, thank you. sarah _ a dictatorial regime. 0k, sarah, thank you. sarah rainsford i a dictatorial regime. 0k, sarah,

chancellor scholz had to make a big sacrifice giving up krasikov here, a russian criminal.ly did the german chancellor say to president biden about his willingness to do this? mr. sullivan: well, i will leave that to chancellor scholz because i think for, you know, important and sensitive conversations, leaders should speak for themselves. reporter: the white house said he said, “for you,” and then he said, “i will do this.” is that fair? and if so, can you at least detail that? mr. sullivan: i can confirm that he did say that. but i thought you were asking sort of to elaborate in greater detail, which i just -- i'm afraid i don't feel comfortable doing because he can speak to his conversations with the president. what i will say, and president biden made this point when he spoke to the press just a short time ago, that relationship between the president and the chancellor -- a relationship of respect, a relationship of genuine friendship -- had the character of being able to work through this sensitive issue in a way that wasn't antiseptic or professional. it was two guys

, as he did today, he was prepared to make them explain a bit more when did it become clear that krasikov was? >> linchpin to a deal like this. and was it during the negotiations over brittney griner when you're engaged in a negotiation in one side lays down a position there's not like a light bulb moment when you say okay, that position is immovable, that has to be tested and alternatives have to be suggested. >> and proposals get put on the table. and rejected a new proposals and rejected. so it is less of a moment. okay now we know and it's more something that you accumulate through the experience of the negotiation and so over the course of this negotiation, we did reach the conclusion that krasikov was a key. >> you've discussed obviously the president's involvement, direct involvement in all of this can you talk us through any involvement that the vice president had? was she also speaking directly to other leaders and allies? >> so as i said in my opening comments, both president biden and vice president harris have made the return of unjustly detained americans hostage american hos

krasikov is an employee of the federal security service. he served in alpha.nterestingly, when he served in alpha, he served together. the presidential press secretary also said that vladimir putin called his belarusian counterpart alexander lukashenko and personally thanked him for his assistance in organizing the exchange. the deal was the largest exchange since the cold war. russia and belarus on the one hand, western countries on the other. more than twenty prisoners, seven states, plus an intermediary, the turkish national intelligence organization. about how they greeted the plane with russians in vnukovo, ksenia. government airport vnukovo-2, honor guard company, red carpet. literally in a few minutes, this ramp will go to the plane arriving from ankara, turkey. first steps on native soil. anna dultseva cannot hold back her tears. she is finally together with her children and husband artyom. the family was separated in december '22. the slavic court considered the spouses to be undercover intelligence officers and convicted them of minor espionage. the

each was rejected by russian intelligence, which each time demanded krasikov. willingness to send krasikov began as an attempt to try and release former opposition leader alexei navalny. that deal was initially agreed to by president biden and chancellor olaf scholz in early february. but before navalny's name could be formally offered to russia, navalny died in a russian penal colony. u.s. officials say they negotiated for months, including a letter from biden to scholz, and germany finally agreed to release krasikov in return for some of navalny's former allies in russian detention, including lilia chanysheva, and ksenia fadeeva. russia is also releasing well known russian human rights defender oleg orlov, and political prisoners sasha skochilenko, and ilya yashin, jailed for criticizing the war in ukraine, all of whom get new lives in germany. >> they stood up for democracy and human rights, their own leaders threw them in prison, the united states helped release them as well. nick: but not all americans got out. army staff sergeant gordon black, who's been