Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany, was spotted at a military facility in Russia
Vadim Krasikov, whom Germany handed over to Russia during a major prisoner exchange in August 2024, may have been spotted at the Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow. Footage from August 2025 was discovered in a publicly accessible surveillance camera database. The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich speculates that after returning to Russia, Krasikov may have resumed working for the FSB, but there is no official confirmation of this.
Vadim Krasikov, whom Russia received during a prisoner exchange with Western countries in 2024, may have been spotted at the Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow. The footage is dated August 2025. According to journalists, it was found in a publicly accessible surveillance camera database. In the video, a man resembling Krasikov is seen on the airfield grounds. This is detailed in a new book by The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, *This Damned Beautiful Land*. The book was published on September 29, 2026.
The footage was discovered by investigative journalist Hristo Grozev. At the same time, Krasikov was allegedly captured by another camera—this time in Moscow. In the recording, a man resembling him is seen driving a black 2025 BMW X6. According to reports about this footage, the car was traveling along Moscow’s Third Transport Ring. Its value on the Russian market is estimated at approximately 14–19 million rubles. However, the fact that the car belongs to Krasikov has not been confirmed by publicly available data.
The footage from Chkalovsky drew the most attention. This is a military airfield in the Moscow Region used by the Russian Air Force. Reports about it also mention that aircraft linked to Russian military intelligence are based there. In his book, Gershkovich asks why Krasikov might have ended up at such a facility after returning to Russia. The journalist also speculates that the former FSB officer may have been working for the Russian intelligence service again. “Could Krasikov really have been working for the FSB again?” Gershkovich writes in his book. However, this is merely a hypothesis, not a confirmed fact. Russian authorities have not publicly disclosed what exactly Krasikov has been doing since his return to the country.
Who Is Vadim Krasikov?
Krasikov became known after the murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin in August 2019. In December 2021, a German court found Krasikov guilty of murder and sentenced him to life in prison. The court found that he acted on behalf of Russian state agencies. The ruling also noted that Russian authorities had created a cover story and a false identity for him in advance.
According to the German court, Krasikov arrived in Berlin posing as a tourist and then shot Hangoshvili in Kleiner Tiergarten Park. The court described the murder as politically motivated and linked to the Russian state. In August 2024, Krasikov became one of the participants in a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries. He was handed over to Russia, and among those who returned to the West was American journalist Evan Gershkovich.
Upon his arrival in Moscow, Krasikov was personally greeted by Vladimir Putin. Putin welcomed him at the aircraft steps, hugged him, and spoke with him alongside other Russians who had returned as part of the exchange. The day after the exchange, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov openly confirmed that Krasikov is an FSB officer. According to Peskov, Krasikov served in the “Alpha” special forces unit, where he crossed paths with some members of the presidential guard. This served as public confirmation that Krasikov was linked to the Russian intelligence services—something Moscow had not previously acknowledged officially.
What is known about his life after the exchange
After returning to Russia, Krasikov has rarely appeared in public. Russian authorities did not disclose what specific position he held, where he worked, or whether he was involved in the FSB’s operational activities. That is precisely why the appearance of a man resembling Krasikov at a military airfield raised additional questions.
According to journalists, the video from Chkalovsky is dated August 2025—roughly a year after his return to Russia. Another video allegedly shows him in Moscow behind the wheel of an expensive BMW. However, these images alone do not prove that Krasikov has been assigned a new mission by the FSB or is once again working for Russian intelligence. In particular, it is unknown exactly why he was at the airfield or who he was meeting there. There is also no official information about his current position or assignment.
Why This Story Matters
Krasikov’s name was one of the key figures in the negotiations surrounding the 2024 prisoner exchange. Russia had been seeking his return for a long time, and after his release, Putin personally met with him in Moscow. The Kremlin has effectively acknowledged his affiliation with the FSB, and a German court previously determined that the murder of Khangoshvili was a state-ordered assassination. Now, new footage and information from Gershkovich’s book raise questions about what Krasikov has been doing since the prisoner exchange.
So far, only one thing can be said with certainty: the man whom a German court sentenced to life in prison for a politically motivated murder—and whom the Kremlin has acknowledged as an FSB agent— was reportedly spotted on the grounds of a military airfield in Russia in 2025. Speculation about his return to work for the intelligence service remains unconfirmed at this time.
