Vadim Krasikov

Vadim Nikolayevich Krasikov (Russian: Вади́м Никола́евич Кра́сиков [vɐˈdʲim nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkrasʲɪkəf]; born 10 August 1965) is a Russian hitman who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for assassinating the Chechen separatist Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in the city of Berlin on 23 August 2019. His case was brought back to international attention during Russia–United States negotiations that culminated in the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange between Russia and Belarus vis-à-vis NATO. One of the prisoners involved in the exchange for Krasikov, Ilya Yashin, would condemn the fact that he was specifically freed in exchange for him due to Krasikov originally being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Khangoshvili.

Prior to Khangoshvili's death, Krasikov had been suspected of conducting several hits within Russia. His internal passport, which he received in 2015, shows that he is under Russian state protection, and he was widely believed to have been in close contact with the Federal Security Service (FSB) since at least 2007. A day after the 2024 prisoner exchange was completed, the Russian government's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Krasikov's affiliation with the FSB and stated that he had served as a bodyguard of Russian president Vladimir Putin as well.