Agent kids didn't know their Russian roots.
As part of the prisoner exchange between the West and Russia, a spy couple also lands in Moscow. According to the Kremlin, their children only learn of their Russian heritage on the plane. They are said to not speak Russian.
The children of two spies who returned to Russia as part of the spectacular prisoner exchange between Moscow and Western states were reportedly unaware of their Russian roots, according to the Kremlin. "The children of the secret agents who arrived by plane yesterday only found out they were Russian when their plane took off in Ankara," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow told the Russian news agency Interfax.
The children are said to not speak Russian. Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted them in Spanish at the reception for the released prisoners at Moscow's airport on Thursday evening, as seen in a video on the Russian president's website.
Following the arrest of spy couple Artem Dulzew and Anna Dulzewa in Slovenia in December 2022, reports also mentioned their children. At the time, it was reported that a child welfare service had taken them into care after their parents' arrest. It was also reported that the mother was Argentine.
On Thursday, Russia and several Western countries, with the participation of the Turkish intelligence agency MIT, exchanged a total of 26 prisoners. Germany handed over the so-called Tiergarten murderer and FSB agent Vadim Krasikov as part of the exchange at Ankara's airport. Belarus released the German national Rico Krieger, who was initially sentenced to death but later pardoned.
Germany also received German national Patrick Schöbel, who was arrested at St. Petersburg airport for carrying cannabis gummies in his luggage. Russia also released the Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted of spying, and former US soldier Paul Whelan.
Upon their return to Russia, the children of the spy couple, who had been unaware of their Russian heritage, struggled to communicate in their new surroundings due to their lack of Russian language skills. During the prisoners' welcome ceremony at Moscow's airport, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to them in Spanish, highlighting their diverse backgrounds.
