{"id":2318223,"date":"2024-08-02T12:57:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T16:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/children-of-freed-russian-spies-learned-of-heritage-on-returning-flight-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-02T13:00:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T17:00:28","slug":"children-of-freed-russian-spies-learned-of-heritage-on-returning-flight-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/children-of-freed-russian-spies-learned-of-heritage-on-returning-flight-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Children of freed Russian spies learned of heritage on returning flight &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchildren-of-freed-russian-spies-learned-of-heritage-on-returning-flight-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2318223&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/west-and-russia-agree-to-largest-prisoner-swap-since-cold-war-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"West and Russia agree to largest prisoner swap since Cold War - Washington Examiner\">massive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iranian-state-television-claims-biden-admin-agreed-to-unfreeze-7-billion-for-prisoner-swap-biden-admin-claims-its-not-true\/\" title=\"Iranian State Television Claims Biden Admin Agreed To Unfreeze  Billion For Prisoner Swap. Biden Admin Claims It\u2019s Not True.\">prisoner exchange<\/a><\/a> involving Russian spies \u200band their families. Two Russian spies, Artem and Anna Dultsev, who had been living undercover \u200din Slovenia as an Argentinian couple, were returned to Russia\u2062 along with their children, who \u2062were unaware of their true heritage. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the children had no knowledge of their Russian identity prior to \u2063the exchange and\u2064 even \u2064did not recognize\u200c Russian President\u2064 Vladimir Putin when they arrived in Moscow, as they spoke only Spanish.<\/p>\n<p>The Dultsevs were sentenced\u200d to over a year in prison but were expelled\u200d from Slovenia as \u200dpart of the swap. The exchange included the \u2063return of other individuals, such as \u2064Americans and Europeans held in Russia, as well \u200das the release of several \u200dRussian political dissidents. Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar \u200bcommended the\u2063 intelligence agencies&#8217; efforts that facilitated the\u200d swap, describing it as a sensitive operation that\u2063 saved\u2064 lives.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Children of freed Russian spies learned of heritage on returning flight<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1720994\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A couple of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Russian\">Russian<\/a> spies living in <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/slovenia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Slovenia<\/a> posing as Argentinians were included in Thursday&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3107395\/west-russia-agree-largest-prisoner-swap-since-cold-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>massive prisoner exchange<\/a>, though they were so deep undercover that their own two children were unaware of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/don-lemon-the-true-identity-of-jesus-was-he-looked-more-like-a-muslim-or-someone-who-was-dark\/\" title=\"Don Lemon: The \u2018True Identity Of Jesus\u2019 Was He \u2018Looked More Like A Muslim Or Someone Who Was Dark\u2019\">true identity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The family of four, the Dultsevs, were among eight Russians who were sent back to their home countries from the United States, Slovenia, Germany, and Norway, in exchange for the release of three Americans, an American green card holder, five Germans, including one from Belarus, and seven Russian political dissidents.<\/p>\n<p>The children were not aware of their family&rsquo;s connection to Russia, according to the Kremlin.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Before that, they didn&rsquo;t know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country,&rdquo; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, per <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/world\/articles\/2024-08-02\/kremlin-says-an-fsb-agent-and-deep-cover-russian-sleeper-agents-among-those-returned-in-swap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Reuters\">Reuters<\/a><\/em>. &ldquo;The children asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them (in Moscow). They didn&rsquo;t even know who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was. This is how the &lsquo;illegals&rsquo; work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to their work.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When their plane touched down in Russia, Putin was there to greet them and did so in Spanish because the children don&rsquo;t speak Russian.<\/p>\n<p>Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultsev were arrested in Slovenia in late 2022. They posed as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, an Argentinian couple. The Ljubljana regional court recently sentenced the duo to more than 1 1\/2 years in prison, equivalent to time served, and ordered their expulsion from Slovenia as a part of the prisoner exchange, Slovenia&rsquo;s 24.ur news portal reported.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets Artyom Dultsev, left, upon the arrival of freed Russian prisoners on Aug. 1, 2024, at Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow. The United States and Russia have made their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history. (Mikhail Voskresensky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar praised the way the exchange operation was conducted.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Slovenia and its intelligence agencies worked tirelessly and with great sensitivity with our allies and partners in prisoner exchange which successfully concluded yesterday,&rdquo; she said on X. &ldquo;I would like to pay respect and compliment everyone involved in this difficult action that saved lives.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Among the other people who were returned to Russia in the deal was Vadim Krasikov, an FSB hitman who was arrested and convicted in Germany for committing the murder of a former Chechen militant in a Berlin park in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>He was convicted for the killing of Zelimkhan &ldquo;Tornike&rdquo; Khangoshvili, who was gunned down from behind near Kleiner Tiergarten. Witnesses saw the gunman throw the gun and a wig into the Spree River nearby but he was arrested shortly thereafter. During his trial, German judges said he was acting on the orders of Russian authorities.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration had desperately sought to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Russia in 2018, and Evan Gershkovich, a <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reporter detained in March 2023, but the U.S. no longer had any high-value Russian assets in U.S. custody after giving up Konstantin Yaroshenko and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in two separate swaps in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the negotiations, Russia made its desire to get Krasikov home known. He became the lynchpin, but the U.S. had to convince a hesitant German government to release him, which President Joe Biden eventually did.<\/p>\n<p>Biden thanked the allies involved in the deal in comments alongside the families of the Americans who were brought home in the deal.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1720994\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1720994\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children of released Russian spies discovered their heritage during the return flight. A pair of Russian spies residing in Slovenia under the guise of being Argentinian were part of a significant prisoner swap on Thursday. Their two children were completely unaware of their parents&#8217; real identities due to the depth of their undercover work. The Dultsev family, consisting of four members, was among eight Russians repatriated from the United States, Slovenia, Germany, and Norway in exchange for three Americans, an American green card holder, five Germans (including one from Belarus), and seven Russian political dissidents. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the children had no knowledge that they were Russian or had any ties to Russia prior to this event. &#8220;They didn\u2019t even know who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was,&#8221; he stated. Upon arriving in Russia, Putin welcomed them in Spanish since the children do not speak Russian. Artem and Anna Dultsev were arrested in Slovenia at the end of 2022 while posing as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer from Argentina. Recently sentenced by a Ljubljana court to over 1\u00bd years in prison (time served), they were expelled as part of this prisoner exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar commended how the exchange operation was handled: &#8220;Slovenia and its intelligence agencies worked tirelessly with our allies on this sensitive prisoner exchange that successfully concluded yesterday.&#8221; Among those returned to Russia was Vadim Krasikov, an FSB assassin convicted for murdering a former Chechen militant in Berlin&#8217;s Kleiner Tiergarten park back in 2019; he acted under orders from Russian authorities according to German judges during his trial.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration had been eager to secure the release of Paul Whelan\u2014a former Marine detained since 2018\u2014and Evan Gershkovich\u2014a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested earlier this year\u2014but after previous swaps involving Konstantin Yaroshenko and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout left no high-value assets remaining with U.S. custody for negotiation purposes.<\/p>\n<p>Russia expressed strong interest in bringing Krasikov home; however, it required persuading a reluctant German government for his release\u2014an effort ultimately led by President Biden who thanked all involved parties alongside families reunited through this deal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2671,"featured_media":2318224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dultsevs.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4294,13357,37020,37019,32076],"class_list":["post-2318223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-children","tag-heritage","tag-return-flight","tag-russian-spies","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dultsevs.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2318223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2318223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2318223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2318224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2318223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2318223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2318223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}