Media reported on special connection between killer Krasikov and Putin

Vladimir Putin considers killer Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life in prison in Germany, his friend and a special symbol for Russia. This is reported by The New York Times (NYT) with reference to an anonymous source close to the Kremlin.

The source who gave the information to the journalists also took part in some of the prisoner exchange negotiations. According to him, Krasikov did not give out any information during the entire trial and investigation in Germany, which Putin greatly appreciated. For the Russian president, Krasikov became a "symbol of a loyal soldier" fulfilling his duty to his homeland, the source claims.

Putin saw Krasikov as a man who was "carrying out a mission of national importance," a source close to the Kremlin claims. Krasikov's release from a German prison and his return to Russia should be "a signal to all the guys that we will not abandon you," the NYT source concludes.

Investigator Hristov Grozev told US State Department Special Representative James Rubin that Krasikov was not just a person close to Russian intelligence services. Krasikov was close to Putin, and the Russian president considered him a friend.

Western intelligence assumed that Krasikov worked as Putin's personal bodyguard. The NYT claims that Putin was ready to exchange Krasikov even for Alexei Navalny. During an interview with American TV host Tucker Carlson, Putin called Krasikov a "patriot" who "liquidated a bandit in one of the European capitals."

The German tabloid BILD, citing "Western intelligence services,"claims that Putin and Krasikova were closely connected in the past. The former prisoner has "knowledge dangerous to the Kremlin," the German journalists claim. The publication's unnamed sources said that intelligence from one of the Western countries suspects Krasikova of involvement in the death of former St. Petersburg governor Anatoly Sobchak. Putin worked as his deputy in the 1990s.

Krasikov shot and killed former Ichkerian field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin in August 2019. In December 2021, a German court found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. According to the court, Krasikov, who used documents in the name of Vadim Sokolov, acted on orders from the Russian authorities. According to journalists, he has been associated with the FSB's Vympel department since at least 2007. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Krasikov is an FSB officer and previously served in Alpha and worked with some members of the presidential security service.

To get the main news faster, subscribe to our telegram and twitter .