Freed Russian opposition speaks after recent prison swap with U.S.

A Russian opposition politician released in the recent East-West prisoner swap thanked his supporters in a live stream on Sunday and vowed to continue promoting his anti-war position to people in Russia.

Ilya Yashin, a former member of a Moscow municipal council and a prominent Kremlin critic was serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence for criticising Russia’s war in Ukraine. He was one of the few well-known opposition activists to stay in Russia since the war.

Yashin said he received about 30,000 letters and postcards in the more than two years he was in prison.

“You have no idea how important that is and how empowering it was. It was literally my source of strength, because not a single day in prison did I feel abandoned, forgotten, or alone,” he said.

Speaking about the details of the prisoner swap, he said two more Russian dissidents should have been released under the deal.

“The Russian side deceived, betrayed their counterparts in the negotiations, leaving (Russian opposition activist Alexei) Gorinov and (associate of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Daniel) Kholodny actually hostage,” Yashin said.

He added that he discussed the conflict with Ukraine with a German government representative and told him that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t stop even if he wins.

“If you allow Putin to devour Ukraine now, he will 100% move on. There are no illusions,” Yashin said.