Kremlin acknowledges intelligence operatives among Russians freed in prisoner swap with US

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Vadim Krasikov upon arrival of freed Russian prisoners at Vnukovo government airport outside Moscow (Mikhail Voskresensky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The Kremlin acknowledged for the first time that some of the Russians held in the West were from its security services, as new details emerged from the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Families of freed dissidents, meanwhile, expressed their joy at the surprise release.