In short:
A Russian sleeper agent couple and their children have been flown to Moscow from Slovenia as part of the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
The family was so deep undercover that the children did not know they were Russian until after the flight took off, according to the Kremlin.
What's next?
Russian President Vladimir Putin said all the released Russian prisoners would be nominated for state awards.
A family of Russian sleeper agents flown to Moscow in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War were so deep undercover that the children found out they were Russians only after the flight took off, according to the Kremlin.
The family, known as the Dultsevs, include a husband and wife convicted in a Slovenia court of pretending to be Argentinians in order to spy.
Their children do not speak Russian and reportedly did not know who Vladimir Putin was until their flight.
"Before that, they didn't know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"And you probably saw that when the children came down the plane's steps that they don't speak Russian and that [President Vladimir] Putin greeted them in Spanish. He said, 'Buenas noches.'"
"Buenas noches" means "Good evening".
Meet the Dultsevs
The Dultsevs had lived in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana since 2017, as the Argentinian couple Maria Rosa Mayer Munos and her husband Ludwig Gisch.
They each ran their own companies and lived a quiet life in a good neighbourhood with their two children, now aged eight and 11, according to Slovenian media.
In December 2022, secret police broke into the family's Ljubljana home and exposed the couple as Russian sleeper agents Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva.
The Slovenian Security and Intelligence Agency found them based on a tip from a foreign intelligence agency, State Secretary Vojko Volk said on Friday.
He did not say which country's agency that was.
Dubbed "illegal" sleeper agents, Mr Peskov said they were held in jail and given only restricted access to their children.
The couple spent nearly 20 months in detention, while the children were put in foster care and continued attending an international school in Ljubljana, according to Slovenian media reports.
Meanwhile, the Slovenian government held talks with Russia's president and his United States counterpart Joe Biden about including the Dultsevs in one of the most complex East-West prisoner swaps in history.
"For a year, talks about this were held with the Russian side in complete secrecy," Mr Volk told reporters.
Talks on the exchange of prisoners — in which Germany would also be included — were also held with US Vice-President Kamala Harris on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February, Mr Volk said.
In a hastily arranged secret trial on Wednesday, a Slovenian court sentenced the Dultsevs to one year and seven months in prison after they pleaded guilty to charges of espionage and using fake identities.
The duo had already served the time and so would be deported and banned from entering Slovenia for five years. They were flown back to Russia on Thursday along with other prisoners.
"The children asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them [in Moscow]. They didn't even know who Putin was," Mr Peskov said.
"This is how the 'illegals' work. They make such sacrifices out of dedication to their work."
Slovenian Security and Intelligence Agency documents describe Russian "illegals" as spies who first train for years in their homeland, then leave Russia and must give up contact with their family members so nothing connects them to Russia.
Mr Putin met the family and other prisoners on the tarmac when they landed in Russia, presenting Dultseva with flowers and a hug on arrival.
In a statement, the Russian president called his decision "a tribute to people who serve their country and who after very difficult trials, and thanks to the hard work of many people, have been able to return to the Motherland".
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob told a news conference in Ljubljana on Friday he was proud his country of about 2 million people had played a part in the swap.
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"Slovenia has thrived in historical times. With this, Slovenia once again proved that the power we have on the international scene is significantly greater than our size," he said.
He added Mr Biden called on Thursday to thank him personally and the Slovenian nation "for this key contribution to saving innocent lives from Russian prisons".
24 prisoners freed in swap
The trade involved 24 prisoners, including 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight prisoners held in the West sent back to Russia.
Those released by Moscow included US journalist Evan Gershkovich and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who also holds British citizenship.
Although Moscow released more prisoners than it received, it was portrayed by Russian authorities as a victory and appeared to go over well on the streets of Moscow.
"I am not remotely political, but any way you look at it any exchange is wonderful, that our Russian comrades returned to the motherland," said Zulfia, interviewed in the city centre.
"Our people are at home with their families. And for each of them it is no pity to hand over a bunch of foreign agent scum," Andrei Lugovoi, the head of an ultranationalist party's faction in the Russian Duma, said on Telegram.
Mr Lugovoi is wanted by Britain for murdering dissident Alexander Litvinenko with poison.
The Russian president congratulated the released prisoners on their return and thanked them for their loyalty in a statement.
"Your country never forgot about you, even for a minute," he said.
"You and I will meet again some time later, and we will talk about your future."
He added the released prisoners would all be nominated for state awards.
Mr Peskov said Russian government agencies were working on freeing other Russians abroad.
The exchange had been negotiated by the FSB and the US Central Intelligence Agency, he said.
Asked if the prisoner swap was a sign that Russia might be ready to strike a compromise deal on Ukraine, Mr Peskov said they were different situations.
He said work on a possible diplomatic solution to what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine was being conducted on "different principles".
ABC/wires
