Russian state media has this morning lauded President Vladimir Putin for 'winning' a prisoner exchange with the United States by swapping US basketball player Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout
Russian state media has this morning lauded President Vladimir Putin for"winning" a prisoner exchange with the United States by swapping US basketball player Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.
He was detained in 2008 in an elaborate sting operation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration in a luxury hotel in Bangkok. Moscow always maintained he was innocent but he was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a Manhattan court in 2012. Little is known publicly about his early life, though he has been linked to Russian military intelligence , which has always made much of its reputation for never forgiving traitors and never abandoning its people no matter what the cost.
"Washington categorically refused to engage in dialogue on the inclusion of the Russian in the exchange scheme," a foreign ministry statement said.Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group of mercenaries, welcomed Mr Bout's return.
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