Alexei Navalny was on the brink of release due to a planned prisoner exchange, says Maria Pevchikh
In September 2023, "The Wall Street Journal" mentioned a possible swap involving Krasikov for American prisoners in Russia. The potential candidates for the exchange were Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Alexei Navalny. Putin later referred to the Krasikov exchange in a dialogue with Tucker Carlson.
"Bild", a German newspaper, acknowledged the discussions surrounding this matter, a few days post Navalny's death. Reportedly, Moscow, Washington, and Berlin were involved in these discussions.
A column by Filipp Piatov in "Bild" read, "Alexei Navalny was on the verge of release," he continued, "The Kremlin unequivocally did not want to release him under any condition."
"Navalny could be here today instead of me"
Maria Pevchikh, stated in a video on Navalny's YouTube page on Monday, that a day prior to Navalny's demise, on February 15, the prisoner exchange discussions had approached their final stage. "I got confirmation on this," she said assuredly.
"Instead of me, he could be here today," Pevchikh captioned in the clip.
Pevchikh elaborated on the preparation for the "humanitarian" prisoner exchange: Russian spies for political prisoners from Russia, which began two years prior. Based on her account, Navalny's team communicated with German and American officials, entrepreneurs, and politicians concerning this.
Putin expressed great interest in getting Krasikov back. Prior to his life sentence in Berlin in 2021, Nikolai Patrushev, Russian Federation Security Council Secretary, was tasked by Putin to explore the plausibility of exchanging the murderer for prisoners in Russia.
According to Pevchikh, Putin was explicitly told that the only way to have Krasikov returned was through an exchange for Navalny. "I can't stand Navalny being free. If Krasikov is desired for exchange by them, the subject of the trade simply has to be removed, and propose another option," she narrated Putin's thoughts in the recording. "It mimics the behaviour of a crazed mafioso," she concluded.
Krasikov's life sentence in Germany
In 2006, Putin authorized the extermination of "country enemies" residing overseas. By 2019, five of the 19 individuals on this list had either died or allegedly committed suicide, one of those being Khangoshvili, a Chechen field commander and a staunch enemy of Russia, as recognized by the Kremlin.
Krasikov assassinated Khangoshvili in the presence of spectators in the Tiergarten, a central district of Berlin within proximity to the Chancellery. A German court deemed the murder a loud and cruel warning to those outside Russia considered enemies of the state, stating: "Regardless of your refuge in the West, we will locate you."
Despite being detained soon after the murder on August 23, 2019, the court in Berlin struggled to confirm his real identity for two years. He introduced himself to German authorities as Vadim Sokolov, a tourist from Russia who had no affiliations with the Russian government. The Russian embassy corroborated that the suspect was Vadim Sokolov, not Vadim Krasikov.
German prosecution managed to unveil his true identity, a veteran of Russian covert operations, with assistance from the Ukrainian police and investigative platform Bellingcat. They deduced that Krasikov was likely affiliated with an undercover FSB division specializing in external operations.
Krasikov was handed a life sentence in December 2021, followed by his transfer to a high-security prison in Bavaria soon after the verdict.
