Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly wants his hit man back, perhaps in exchange for a prisoner swap with detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, 31, and others held in Russia.
Assassin Vadim Krasikov, 58, is imprisoned in Germany for a 2019 execution-style murder of Chechen insurgent leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. Putin had sought a prisoner exchange for his Russian hit man before he was convicted in 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. is seeking the return of U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan and the Journal's Gershkovich, and Krasikov is key leverage, officials told the Journal.
In fact, sources say Putin is interested in trading only for Krasikov.
A deal for Whelan, Gershkovich, and Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny could be possible, officials from several countries told the Journal.
Germany has not stated whether Krasikov is negotiable and government lawyers opined in a legal filing a convicted murderer is off limits in prisoner swaps, according to the report.
Kyiv, Ukraine, and its Bellingcat investigative platform contributed to the identification of Krasikov as Khangoshvili's killer and his alleged ties to Russian intelligence V, formerly known as the FSB.
Krasikov is serving a life sentence in the German prison system and has been considered to having carried out a terrorist act, according to the Germany court system.
After a trial in which "Krasikov appeared uninterested," at times putting on headphones to listen to translated witnesses of those testifying against him, Krasikov was moved to an undisclosed high-security German prison, according to the Journal.
Russia's embassy in Berlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry declined to respond to the Journal's requests for comment.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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