Russian President Vladimir Putin personally welcomed those released from Western detention facilities through a prisoner exchange by meeting them at the airport.
According to TASS and other sources, on the 1st (local time), President Putin greeted each of the eight repatriated individuals who disembarked from a special flight at Vnukovo-2 Airport in Moscow, Russia, shaking hands and hugging them.
Anna Dulcheva, who was serving a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence on espionage charges in Slovenia along with her husband, and her daughter were also presented with bouquets of flowers.
President Putin, who waited for several minutes below the stairs until they disembarked, said in a welcoming speech at the airport terminal, "Congratulations on your return," and added, "I thank those directly involved in military service for their oath, duty, and loyalty to the motherland."
He also announced that all of them would be nominated for national honors.
The airport welcome ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov, and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin.
Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, said about this prisoner exchange, "It shows that our country's priority is supporting our citizens," and added, "Russia does not abandon them."
He emphasized, "This is especially true when rescuing patriots who worked for the motherland or Russians imprisoned in hostile countries’ jails for no reason or unjust reasons due to 'Russophobia.'"
He evaluated this exchange as "a success of Russian diplomacy against the backdrop of all difficulties in relations with the collective West," and expressed hope that "this will not be the last exchange."
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Telegram on the 2nd, "What many call a 'swap,' I want to call a 'battle of restraint'?the restraint of the prisoners, the restraint of political authorities, and the restraint of security agencies."
The FSB announced on the 1st that eight Russians detained in various NATO countries had returned to Russia. Among the prisoners who returned to Russia was Vadim Krasikov, a Russian intelligence agency assassin serving a life sentence in Germany.
On the same day, 16 individuals, including Western citizens and Russian anti-government figures released from Russia, were Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine.
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