Bungling Russian assassin who ‘shot man twice in head in wig-wearing bicycle hit job’ released back to Putin in swap

A RUSSIAN assassin who carried out a hit job while wearing a wig has been released back to the Kremlin in the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Vadim Krasikov gunned down a former Chechen rebel leader, shooting him twice in the head in a Berlin park – in broad daylight – in 2019, just steps away from kids in a playground

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The ex-special forces commando proved key in the prisoner swap on Thursday that set free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich , former US marine Paul Whelan and British-Russian journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza .

The 58-year-old was in 2021 convicted of murder and state terrorism by a German court.

Tornike Khangoshvili, also known as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, was assassinated in August 2019 in retaliation for his role fighting alongside Chechen separatists against Moscow in the 2000s, the court found.

Krasikov, who witnesses said had a dark wig, cycled up behind him and shot him dead – before changing clothes, shaving off his beard and dumping his bike on a pond in a panic to evade arrest.

The judge concluded that Krasikov was acting on commands of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment for an “especially serious” crime.

Judge Olaf Arnoldi said at the time: “State organs of the government of the Russian Federation took the decision to liquidate Tornike Khangoshvili in Berlin.

“Khangoshvili had given up the fight against the Russian Federation years before. He had not held a weapon in his hands since 2008.

“This was not an act of self-defence by Russia. This was and is nothing other than state terrorism.”

The judge added the order very likely came from Vladimir Putin himself.

CHRISTOPH SOEDER/dpa/AFP via Getty Images

According to the Wall Street Journal , Krasikov boasted to German prison guards: “The Russian Federation will not leave me to rot in jail.”

That became reality on Thursday in the deal that won the West back a trio of prisoners, including the wrongfully detained Gershkovich -who was staring down the barrel of a 16-year sentence.

The German government said it didn’t make the decision to release Putin’s hitman lightly – but regaining the three Westerners could only be done by swapping a Russian “with an intelligence background”.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz ’s spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement: “The freedom, physical well-being and in some cases ultimately the life of innocent people imprisoned in Russia and unjustly held political prisoners stood against the state’s interest.

“Our obligation to protect German citizens and solidarity with the US were important motivations.”

It comes as innocent American journalist Evan Gershkovich was also finally freed today as part of the huge prisoner exchange deal.

Evan, 32, faced an outrageous 16 years in jail after a sham trial where he was wrongly accused by Vladimir Putin ‘s crooked regime of collecting “secret information” for the CIA.

A Russian government plane was seen at Ankara Airport in Turkey today where the journalist was one of dozens of political prisoners to be released.

The swap involved 23 other prisoners in Russian jails – including former US marine Paul Whelan and British-Russian journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Today’s exchange is one of the largest and most complicated swaps between the West and Russia in history .

The US, Russia and Germany were all involved in the large scale operation.

They were seen smiling with a US flag on Thursday night from Ankara.

Russia’s FSB published a video of the the US citizens being readied for the swap, likely from earlier this morning.

The Wall Street Journal said after Evan’s release on Thursday afternoon: “Gershkovich and other Americans left Russian aircraft moments ago at an airport in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

“Russia had kept the 32-year-old behind bars for more than a year on a false allegation of espionage.

“It sentenced him in a hurried and secret three-day trial to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.”

The Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker shares a letter after Evan's release

Today is a joyous day for the safe return of our colleague Evan Gershkovich, who left a Russian aircraft moments ago in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, as part of a prisoner swap with Russia.

It is a joyous day for Evan’s family, friends and colleagues, who have worried about him and supported him these past 16 months.

It is a joyous day for the millions of well-wishers in the U.S. and around the world who stood with Evan and defended the free press.

And it is a joyous day for the relatives and friends of the other wrongfully detained Americans and German citizens who returned home and for the Russian political prisoners who were released to the West.

That it was done in a trade for Russian operatives guilty of serious crimes was predictable as the only solution given President Putin’s cynicism. We are grateful to President Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didn’t commit.

We are also grateful to the other governments that helped bring an end to Evan’s nightmare, in particular the German government that played such a critical role.

We know the U.S. government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice. The ordeal of Evan and the other returnees—along with those Americans still being wrongfully detained around the world—demonstrates the urgent need for a change in the dynamic to prevent the future seizure of innocent hostages.

But for now, we are celebrating the return of Evan. While we waited for this momentous day, we were determined to be as loud as we could be on Evan’s behalf. We are so grateful for all the voices that were raised when his was silent. We can finally say, in unison, “Welcome home, Evan.”

It has been our honor to have got to know Evan’s family—Ella, Mikhail, Danielle and Anthony—and we have marveled at their good grace, fortitude and wisdom under such pressure. We can imagine and share in their joy and relief at the return of their son and brother.

I am proud of how forcefully the WSJ newsroom and Dow Jones responded to the call of a colleague in extreme distress. Now we and Evan’s many friends in the media and elsewhere can celebrate his return to freedom.

All those who spoke up for Evan and worked for his release—the U.S. and allied governments, Congress, the media industry, readers of the Journal, supporters of the free press, opponents of arbitrary detention, those moved by the plight of a young American journalist behind bars—can know that their support made a huge difference and is greatly, greatly appreciated.

My greatest thanks, though, must go to Evan himself.

The bogus case against him represented many significant things. A blow against press freedom. A warning to foreign journalists covering the Kremlin. A new tension in America’s relationship with Russia.

But at the center of it all was Evan, our 32-year-old Moscow correspondent from New Jersey, who likes to cook and supports Arsenal Football Club, and who loved living in and reporting on Russia.

He was our inspiration, the galvanizing force. We watched him deal with his absurd predicament with strength, composure, humor and a “heart-sign” from behind the walls of his courtroom glass cage. Along the way, we learned about his life and his history and understood why he is beloved by so many.

Now that Evan is home, we plan to give him as much time and space as he needs to restore himself, reconnect, and ponder the next steps in his life and career. We will be right there with him and his family. And we look forward to seeing him in the newsroom when he is ready.

I want to sign off by once again thanking all those who helped bring him home and rejoice that Evan and his fellow former detainees are reunited with their families.

We stand with them all,

Emma Tucker

Timeline of Evan Gershkovich's detainment

FALSELY jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained on baseless accusations of espionage in March 2023.

Here is a timeline of key events:

Russia’s security service, the FSB, charged him with espionage – a charge that he, the WSJ and the US government deny.

They argued – without evidence – that he collected “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”

Day 12: April 10, 2023 – The US designated Gershkovich wrongfully detained and launched effort on Russia to free him.

Day 20: April 18, 2023 – A Moscow court upheld his pre-trial detention, denied him bail and ordered him to be held in the capital’s infamous Lefortovo prison.

Day 55: May 23, 2023 – Gershkovich’s detention was extended until at least August 30.

His parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, travelled to the hearing and said “any parents who loves their kid would travel to the end of the world to be with them for give minutes.”

Day 76: June 13, 2023 – The White House called on Russia to immediately free Gershkovich and also free former US marine Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in 2020.

Day 85: June 22, 2023 – A Moscow court upheld the extension of Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.

Day 100: July 7, 2023 – The world’s press stood for solidarity with the reporter as his shameful detention reached 100 days.

Day 174: September, 19, 2023 – Gershkovich had another appeal for freedom blocked.

Day 195: October 10, 2023 – The US reporter had yet another appeal denied which would see his detention extended until at least November 30.

Day 244: November 28, 2023 – A court ruled Gershkovich would remain in pre-trial detention until at least January 30.

Day 303: January 26, 2024 – The innocent journalist’s time behind bars was extended until the end of March.

Day 316: February 8, 2024 – Vladimir Putin tells US TV host Tucker Carlson a deal could be reached between Russia and the US over Gershkovich.

Day 363: March 26, 2024: Gershkovich’s detention will drag on until June 30 as he nears one year behind bars.

Day 442: June 13, 2024: Russian authorities announce he will stand trial over bogus accusations that the reporter was spying for the CIA

Day 455: June 26, 2024: Closed-door sham trial begins in Yekaterinburg at the Sverdlovsk courthouse with Evan appearing inside a glass cage

Day 478: July 19, 2024: Evan is sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison

Day 491: August 1, 2024: Evan is released as part of a historic prisoner exchange deal between Russia and the West

AP