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"Will the soldier go to Ukraine", Putin grants citizenship to the American 'spy' Edward Snowden

2022-09-26 21:30:30Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"Will the soldier go to Ukraine", Putin grants citizenship to the
Edward Snowden

Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday granting Russian citizenship to American 'spy' Edward Snowden.

Snowden, 39, a former US intelligence contractor has been living in Russia since 2013 to escape prosecution in the US following the release of secret files, published by international media, that revealed extensive domestic surveillance operations and international conducted by the US National Security Agency, NSA.

In 2020, Snowden said he and his then-pregnant wife were applying for Russian citizenship so they wouldn't be separated from their future son in an era of pandemics and closed borders. Russia granted him permanent residency that same year, paving the way for him to obtain Russian citizenship.

"After years of separation from my parents, my wife and I have no desire to part with our son. That is why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we are applying for dual US-Russian citizenship," Snowden tweeted at the time.

"Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the American values ​​we love, including the freedom to express his opinion, and I look forward to the day when I can return to the United States so that all family to be reunited. Our greatest wish is that, wherever our son lives, he feels at home," he continued.

There was no immediate reaction from Snowden, whose name appeared on a list of 72 foreign-born individuals to whom Putin was granting citizenship.

Putin's decree to grant citizenship to Snowden quickly led to memes on social media that the 'spy' will soon be conscripted into the Russian military to fight in Ukraine as part of the country's nationwide mobilization campaign.

"Will Snowden Mobilize?" wrote Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state broadcaster RT on her Telegram channel.

Snowden's Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told state news agency Ria Novosti that his client could not be recruited because he had not previously served in the Russian armed forces. The lawyer added that Snowden's wife, Lindsay Mills, was also applying for Russian citizenship.

The whistleblower mostly keeps a low profile while living in Russia, occasionally posting pictures of his family in Moscow. He said in 2019 that he was willing to return to the US if he was guaranteed a fair trial.

Snowden, who has previously criticized the Kremlin's human rights record, has not commented publicly on the invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, he repeatedly expressed doubts that Russia would start a war, blaming the media for "postponing" the conflict.

"I've just lost all faith that sharing my opinion on this particular topic continues to be useful because I called it wrong," Snowden tweeted on February 27, three days after Russia sent its troops into Ukraine.


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