Russian Spies Freed in Major Prisoner Swap

Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, Russian spies posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia, were among 24 prisoners released in a major East-West prisoner swap. Their children, Sofia and Daniel, were unaware of their parents' true nationality until their flight to Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin greeted them in Spanish. The couple had been living undercover since 2017, with Artem running an IT startup and Anna managing an online art gallery. They were arrested in 2022 and sentenced to 19 months for espionage but were released due to time served. The swap involved prisoners from the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The exchange underscores the deep sacrifices made by undercover agents and the complex geopolitical negotiations involved in such operations.