Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on the prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries that took place the day before. He confirmed that one of those returned, Vadim Krasikov, is an FSB officer who served in the Alpha special forces unit, including with several members of the presidential security detail.

According to Peskov, "Russian services will continue to work to return their citizens who are imprisoned abroad to the Russian Federation."

Recall that Vadim Sokolov (Krasikov) received a life sentence in Germany in 2021 for the murder of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. The crime was committed on August 23, 2019, in Berlin's Small Tiergarten park. According to investigators, Krasikov rode up to the victim on a bicycle and fired two shots. He was arrested and brought to justice the same day. The media reported that the killer was an FSB officer and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.

The relatives of the murdered man called the killer's return to Russia "devastating news."

"On the one hand, we are glad that someone's life was saved. At the same time, we are very disappointed that there seems to be no law in the world, even in countries where the law is the highest authority," the statement published by Deutsche Welle (DW) said, citing the family's lawyer.