The prisoners have returned to their countries of origin, but the controversy remains. Khamala Harris in the front row with Joe Biden, as well as Vladimir Putin, while the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, is completely absent, as she seems not to have digested the release of Krasikov, an FSB agent who committed a murder in Germany. The Russian prisoners who arrived in Cologne and were released as part of the swap will be taken to hospital for quarantine, Meduza reports, citing a source close to one of the political prisoners. No reception for them.
Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, Radio Liberty journalist Alsou Kurmasheva and former Marine Paul Whelan have returned to the United States, having landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland after transiting through Turkey. They were welcomed by relatives, in addition to Biden and Harris.
“Biden has nothing to do with organizing the prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries, although he is now trying to “gain” his authority in this field,” said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. According to him, the exchange was organized exclusively through the secret services and diplomats were not involved either. “The Belarusian side provided all possible assistance.”
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, negotiations on the exchange between Russia and the West were conducted primarily through the FSB and the CIA. Vadim Krasikov is an FSB officer and served in the Alpha special unit, along with several members of the presidential guard, he said.
According to CNN, there were also secret negotiations conducted through a secret CIA channel. It has been used for many years to conduct delicate diplomacy with Moscow. And during the negotiations it became clear that Germany would agree to give up Krasikov if there was a compelling moral imperative.
In Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin was waiting for the prisoners, with honors and flowers. The daughters of two prisoners who arrived in Moscow with their parents found out that they were Russian when the plane took off from Ankara after the exchange. These girls do not speak Russian and Putin greeted them in Spanish and they did not know who they were meeting, Peskov reported.
Die Welt writes about the prisoner exchange and calls it “Putin’s double victory.” The article also directly states that the Kremlin dictates its conditions to the West. CNN reports on the secret details of the preparation of the exchange between the Russian Federation and the West. At the end of June, Russian intelligence and CIA officials had a confidential meeting in an unnamed city in the Middle East, the broadcaster says. This was the last offer that American officials have made to Russia for several years. It was then that they offered to exchange Vadim Krasikov. “Russian officials returned to Moscow with this proposal. In early July, in a telephone conversation with CIA Director William Burns, the Russian side told the Americans that they agreed to the deal in principle,” CNN reports.
The Biden administration had previously exchanged its most valuable Russian prisoner, Viktor Bout, for the release of basketball player Greiner. As a result, they no longer had any valuable Russian prisoners. And Russia clearly insisted that it needed Krasikov. And the US authorities began to cooperate with Germany on this issue.
According to the Russian social sphere, there are many reasons to call this a victory for Putin: “This story turned out to be beneficial for the Russian authorities in all respects: 1. Having repatriated Russians from foreign prisons, patriotic citizens were once again shown that we are not abandoning our people. 2. A similar signal was given to security forces and intelligence agents. Even if the fulfillment of a state task can lead to a life sentence in a foreign prison: the system will use all its resources for the release. 3. An official diplomatic bridge has been established with the Biden team. The Russian leadership is completely satisfied with the Democratic candidate. If Kamala Harris wins, they will work with her.”
Ukraine reported the return of 250 military bodies thanks to the mediation of the United Arab Emirates.
And now a look at the front line as of 14:30 on August 2.
According to the Russian social sphere: “There was a missile attack on Sevastopol last night, which coincided with flights of the former Dutch F-16BM from a training air base in Romania”. Sevastopol was subjected to a massive attack using missiles and drones, said Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev. According to him, the high-explosive part of the ATACMS missile fell on the roof of a high-rise building, people were evacuated. Submunitions from the downed ATACMS fell on the streets of the city.
Air defense systems destroyed six drones over Russian territory overnight. Four drones were shot down over the Krasnodar Territory, two over the Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
The Russian military is preparing for a new offensive in Vovchansk, the Kharkov Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. Social media sources reported that “in the city, the Russian Armed Forces evacuated the wounded, carried out internal rotation of personnel, and supplied ammunition and equipment to forward positions. In a nine-story building block, preparatory measures for assault operations are underway.”
“During the single movement, personnel are being accumulated in the basements to continue further attacks on the positions of the defense forces,” the JTF said in a statement.
In the Kharkiv direction: Positional battles continue in the Lyptsi sector, the situation has not changed significantly.
Russian troops are advancing in several directions, aiming for Pokrovs’k. In the north, Ukraine has lost the vital Tymofiivka fortification, so Russia’s advance in this direction is expected to accelerate. Russian troops have advanced 1,700 meters to the west, entering Lysyche and reaching the outskirts of Svyrydonivka.
Geolocalized footage from Ukrainian drones shows that Russian troops have not only taken up positions in Ivanivka in the south, but are also in the center of the village. Russian troops have also advanced 1,000 meters to the north and are approached the 4th fortification of Vesele.
In the south, Ukrainian troops lost the main and large fortifications in the area, retreating to trenches slightly to the south. Russian troops also advanced 2,200 meters along the Prohres railway and reached the first roads to the villages of Serhiivka and Zhelanne. Russian forces also made little progress in the eastern part of Zhelanne, recapturing an industrial plant.
Ukrainian sources confirm that Russia is sending heavy reinforcements to the area. In the Pokrovs’k direction alone, Russian troops have occupied an area of 9.36 square kilometers over the past 12 hours.
Graziella Giangiulio
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