Prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. Dmitry Medvedev threatens those released. “Let them burn in hell”

Dmitry Medvedevwho currently serves as deputy head of the Security Council, wrote on Telegram on Sunday that political prisoners released by the Kremlin “should not forget about the fragility of their earthly existence.” In his threat, he also warned them to “look over their shoulder.” He called the released political prisoners “traitors to the homeland” and wished them to “burn in hell.”

The term “traitors of the homeland” cannot, however, refer to all those released, because among them were, among others, Americans and Germany. Russians whose trip to the West was organized include: Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin.

The British BBC website writes that the Kremlin has intensified attacks on its opponents who emigrated from the country with the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine. They themselves told the BBC about growing threats, attempts to silence and persecute, assessing that “the Kremlin is tightening the screws.”

Some activists, including opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov of the Anti-War Committee, said they had been warned by British police that they might be in danger. Activist Ksenia Maksimova was also warned of a possible threat. British officials told her, among other things, not to travel to countries where Russian agents operate “more freely.”

READ MORE: The largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War >>>

British counter-terrorism police have told the BBC that they have stepped up their response to threats from hostile states. BBC sources say there has been an increase in cyberattacks, online spying and threats.

“Parasites can't sleep peacefully” – this is the message received by investigative journalist Alesia Marochowska. She changed her address when it appeared in a threatening message. An anonymous message told her that he would find her “wherever she walks her whistling dog”. Later, she received messages with other private information, such as the flight number and seat on the plane she was supposed to fly from Czech down Sweden. – I can't say I'm not afraid, because I am, she admitted.

The BBC also recalls the story Leonid Volkov, an associate of Alexei Navalny, was brutally beaten with a hammer in Vilnius. He was attacked by two Polish hooligans hired by a Belarusian agent. All three were arrested.

According to analysts, Russian services are intensifying their actions against the opposition abroad right now because, as Russian intelligence researcher Andrei Soldatov said, “after the initial stage of confusion in 2022 (when the war began and many intelligence officers were expelled from Western countries – ed.), they regrouped and found a new sense of purpose (…), received resources and began to increase the pressure.”

Expert Russia Mark Galeotti assessed that “the goal is to intimidate”. “That it is better to keep your head down. This is to prevent the emergence of any coherent opposition” – he assessed.

Meanwhile, at home, the Russian authorities are initiating criminal proceedings against their opponents. They are canceling their documents to make it as difficult as possible for them to function – we read.