Putin welcomes returned Russian prisoners at airport with military honor guard and promises them state awards

Vladimir Putin traveled to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Thursday to greet the Russian citizens who were returned to the country as part of Russia’s historic prisoner exchange with the West. The meeting was broadcast live on Russian state TV.

“First and foremost, I want to congratulate everyone on returning to your motherland,” the Russian president told the returnees. “To those who are involved in military service, I want to thank you for staying loyal to your oath, your duty, and your motherland, which never forgot you even for a minute. All of you will receive state awards.”

Putin also told the freed prisoners, who were welcomed at the airport with a red carpet and a military honor guard, that he would meet with them again to talk about their futures. “But for now, I just want to congratulate you,” he said.

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One of the prisoners released in the exchange was ex-FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, who had been serving prison time in Germany for the 2019 assassination of a former Chechen field commander in Berlin. Footage of Putin’s meeting with the returnees shows him hugging Krasikov.