Putin has granted Russian citizenship to one of the most wanted people in the US
Edward Snowden has lived in Moscow since 2013, where he fled after being accused of espionage for revealing highly classified documents from the National Security Agency.
Edward Snowden, who leaked highly sensitive documents of the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 – and since then has been one of the most wanted people in the United States, was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin.
Snowden has lived in Moscow since 2013, when he fled to the Russian capital to avoid espionage charges. He received temporary asylum, which was repeatedly extended – until he received permanent residency in 2020.
Now, President Putin has granted Snowden full Russian citizenship. With the news, Snowden tweeted on his Twitter account: “After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to part with our sons. After two years of waiting and almost ten years of exile, some stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them – and for All of us.”
He added to the post a photo of himself next to his wife, blogger Lindsey Mills, and their two sons. Mills, by the way, also applied for Russian citizenship.
After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS.
After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them—and for us all. https://t.co/24NUK21TAo pic.twitter.com/qLfp47uzZ4
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 26, 2022
In November 2020, Snowden contacted the Russian government and asked to receive a Russian passport. So, he wrote: “Lindsey and I will remain Americans, raising our sons with all the American values we love – including the freedom to speak our minds. And I look forward to the day when I can return to the US, so the whole family can be reunited.”
As you may recall, in 2013 Snowden was exposed when he leaked information from the National Security Agency, according to which it collected phone records from millions of Americans and connected to the servers of nine major Internet companies to monitor online communications.
Afterwards, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper accused Snowden of causing “tremendous and heavy damage” to US intelligence, while then-President Barack Obama said he had undermined the government’s ability to “keep our people safe”.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham commented on the news and linked it to Putin’s call-up of 300,000 reservists for the continuation of the war in Ukraine. “Now that Edward Snowden has been granted full Russian citizenship, I expect him to be on the battlefield in Ukraine fighting for Putin every day.”
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