Vadim Krasikov

Krasikov allegedly maintained close contact with veterans of the former FSB special forces group Vympel.^[8] According to Bellingcat, Evgeny Eroshkin^[b] is allegedly Krasikov's FSB handler.^[9][c]

Previously, Krasikov was a suspect in two murders: in the 4 April 2007 murder by three people of the businessman and local politician Yuri Kozlov (Юрий Козлов) who was shot near his home in Kostomuksha, Republic of Karelia, while he was getting out of his car; and in the 19 June 2013 murder in Moscow of Albert Nazranov (Альберт Назранов) who was from Kabardino-Balkaria.^[1][8] After killing Kozlov, the criminals went to the river to throw away evidence and were spotted by witnesses.^[8] Recorded by CCTV, the murder of Nazranov was by an assailant who wore a cap and a black tracksuit and approached Nazranov by bicycle; however, upon seeing him, Nazranov pushed the assailant away and ran away, but was killed by the assailant with a pistol from close range with one shot to the chest and one to the head after the assailant caught up with Nazranov by bicycle.^[1][8][19] A few minutes later, the assailant fled the scene by bicycle.^[1] In 2014, Krasikov was arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of the Nazarov murder and he along with both Vladimir Fomenko^[d] and Oleg Ivanov^[e] also were arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of the Kozlov murder.^[8] None of them were known to be convicted of any offence.^[8]

On 3 September 2015, Krasikov received an internal Russian passport with the name Vadim Andreevich Sokolov (Вадим Андреевич Соколов) and Sokolov's entry in the Russian federal passport database accessible to law enforcement denotes that Sokolov is under state protection which is similar to the notes in the database for suspected GRU officers "Boshirov" and "Petrov" who allegedly were involved in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.^[1][19]

After stalking^[f] and shooting Khangoshvili in Kleiner Tiergarten Park, Krasikov threw his bicycle, pistol, and a bag containing his disguise into the Spree River.^[1][8] Witnesses called the police, who detained him. Then investigators found his fingerprints on some of the items retrieved by police divers. Krasikov denied the killing, saying that he was a tourist named Vadim A. Sokolov, the name on his Russian passport. His real identity was finally established using photographs that showed his distinctive tattoos. German prosecutors indicated that Krasikov worked for the Russian Federal Security Service, who gave him a false identity, a passport, and the resources for the assassination.^[4][20][g]

On 8 February 2024, during Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president referred to a "patriot" who "eliminated a bandit" in a European capital city when Carlson questioned him on whether he would consider releasing the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who had been imprisoned in Russia on charges of espionage; this remark is widely believed to have referred to Krasikov, though Putin did not mention him by name and hinted to negotiations with the United States for a prisoner exchange. Later that year, in August, Krasikov was among those released by NATO countries as part of the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange with Russia–Belarus, which released Gershkovich and 15 others.

On 2 August 2024, Dmitri Peskov confirmed Vadim Krasikov is a FSB special forces officer, had served in the Alpha Group as a bodyguard of Vladimir Putin, frequently visited the FSB Anti-Terrorist Directorate on Vernadsky Avenue in Moscow, and had trained at the FSB special forces base "Vympel" before he left Russia to assassinate Khangoshvili.^{[11][21][22][23]}