Welcoming Russian Citizens Freed In Prisoner Exchange, President Putin: Thank You For Your Loyalty

JAKARTA - President Putin is grateful for his loyalty to the oath and duty of the state, when he directly welcomed the Russian citizens released in the prisoner swap, promising them a state award.

Eight people have been released and returned to Russia, part of the largest exchange of Eastern-West prisoners since the end of the Cold War, including Vadim Krasikov, a hitman convicted by a German court for killing former Chechen militants in Berlin parks. There are also two people convicted of cybercrimes in the United States, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznyov.

In return, US journalist Evan Gershkovich and former marine Paul Whelan were among those released by Moscow in a secret negotiated complicated deal for more than a year.

President Putin, a former KGB officer and former head of Russia's FSB security service, met eight people who returned at Moscow airport and hugged them or held their hands, giving some of them bouquets of flowers as they got off the plane for the red carpet flanked by the Kremlin's honorary forces.

The first person to come down, wearing a baseball cap and a sportssuit top, was Krasikov, a hitman. He was then hugged by President Putin.

Inside the airport building, President Putin, who looked very happy, told the returning refugees:

"First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on your return to the country. Now I want to greet those of you who have a direct relationship with military service. I would like to thank you for your loyalty to your oath and duty to the country, who have never forgotten you for a second," he said.

"You will all be given a state award. I will meet you again, we will discuss your future," he added.

Among those released were also the Dultsev family, including their two children, who were convicted by courts in Slovenia for pretending to be Argentine citizens to spy on EU and NATO member states.

The couple is suspected of being an "dark immigrant", an undercover agent trained to disguise himself as a foreigner, who spent years living abroad under their pseudonym.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB's domestic intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR foreign intelligence service and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov appeared to accompany President Putin at the airport to welcome those released.

Earlier, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday commented on the prisoner swap, saying his country's traitor had to rot and die in prison, but it was more beneficial for Moscow to repatriate its own people.

"And let the traitors now rush to adopt new names and actively disguise themselves under the witness protection program," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.