A historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West revealed a surprising twist involving the children of two Russian intelligence agents. Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, who were among the 24 prisoners swapped in the deal, discovered their Russian nationality only during the flight back to Moscow.
The Kremlin revealed that the couple had been posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia, where they were convicted of espionage. Their two children, unaware of their parents’ true identities, were unaware of their Russian heritage.
Upon their arrival in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin greeted the family in Spanish as the children did not speak Russian. The children were reportedly surprised to learn who Putin was.
“The boy and girl found out that they were Russian only when the plane took off from Ankara,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday. “When the children came down the plane’s steps – they don’t speak Russian – and Putin greeted them in Spanish, he said ‘Buenas noches,’” Peskov recalled. “They asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them, they didn’t even know who Putin was,” he added.
The Dultsevas, who pleaded guilty to espionage in a Slovenian court on Wednesday, had been living undercover lives. Artem Dultsev posed as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gisch, while Anna Dultseva posed as an art dealer and gallery owner named Maria Rosa Mayer Munos.
After serving his prison sentence, Dultsev was set to be deported to Russia and banned from entering Slovenia for five years. Dultseva faced similar consequences.
Peskov also addressed the ongoing efforts to secure the release of other Russians imprisoned abroad, stating, “the fate of all our Russians who are held in custody abroad, in the United States, is a matter of constant concern for all our relevant agencies, which will continue the relevant work.
