Putin welcomes spies, children who don't know they are Russian

Mr Putin waited for the Russians to be released near the stairs of the Rossiya Special Flight Squadron aircraft. They were also given a red carpet welcome, attended by about 40 ceremonial guards from the Presidential Regiment.

As the freed Russians began to disembark from the plane, Mr Putin greeted each one with a handshake or hug. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and FSB security service chief Alexander Bortnikov also came to the airport to greet the released Russians.

At the airport terminal, President Putin gave a brief welcoming speech, thanking them for remaining faithful to their oath and congratulating them on their return.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Russian citizens at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia on August 1, 2024. Photo: Sputnik

One notable detail regarding the released spies is that the children of a spy family in Slovenia only learned that they were Russian when they boarded the plane to return in this exchange.

“The children of the sleeper agents who flew in yesterday only learned that they were Russian when the plane took off from Ankara,” the Kremlin spokesman said. “When the children stepped onto the tarmac – they did not speak Russian – Putin greeted them in Spanish.”

“Yesterday, the children of undercover agents asked their parents who had welcomed them, they didn’t even know who Putin was,” the spokesman added. “But this is how undercover agents work. These are the kinds of sacrifices they have to make in their work, for the good of the country,” he stressed.

“The undercover agents were in prison,” Peskov said. “They were deprived of the opportunity to see their children during that time.” Although Anna Dultseva and her husband Artyom Dultsev were serving sentences in Slovenia for espionage, they both felt they could not stay in the country.

The couple came to Slovenia on Argentine passports in 2017, where they set up an IT company. After Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine in 2022, intelligence from an unspecified country advised Slovenia to investigate the family.

The couple was arrested and their two children, a boy and a girl, were placed in an orphanage. Investigators believe they were undercover agents of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service. The couple pleaded guilty. On July 31, 2024, a court in Ljubljana sentenced them to one year and seven months in prison for espionage.

Mr Peskov said Russian government agencies were working to free other Russians abroad. He said the swap had been negotiated by the FSB and the US Central Intelligence Agency.

The swap involved 24 prisoners, including 16 released from Russia to Western countries and eight prisoners held in the West returned to Russia. Those released by Moscow included American journalist Evan Gershkovich.

Huy Hoang (according to TASS, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ong-putin-chao-don-cac-diep-vien-tro-ve-post306099.html