Edward Snowden, a former security contractor who leaked documents about secret surveillance by the US National Security Agency and then fled to Russia, was granted Russian citizenship by president Vladimir Putin on Monday, according to a report from Reuters.
After living under asylum since 2013, Snowden was granted citizenship along with 71 other foreigners in a decree signed by Putin, the report said.
Snowden, 39, hasn’t updated his Twitter or Substack since the announcement.
Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden’s attorney, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but did tell Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti Monday that Snowden’s wife, Lindsay Mills, is also in the process of applying for Russian citizenship, according to The Washington Post.
Kucherena also told RIA Novosti that Snowden won’t be called into military mobilization against Ukraine as he never served in the Russian army.
US authorities have been seeking to have Snowden extradited back to his home country, but have met resistance from Russia. In 2017, then-CIA director Michael Morell reportedly suggested Putin “gift” Snowden to then president-elect Donald Trump, a suggestion that was not taken by Moscow. Russia does not have an extradition treaty with the US.
The move by Putin could be seen as a way to antagonize the US as Russia continues its war against Ukraine, a country being buoyed by billions of dollars in American weapons being sent to Kyiv. America’s strong support of Ukraine has been a problem for Russia, which has met disastrous results on the battlefield, with up to 80,000 Russian troops either killed or injured, according to the Pentagon. Last week, Putin declared a draft, calling up 300,000 additional Russian men with military experience, leading to protest and turmoil within the country.
In August, Russia sentenced WNBA basketball player Brittney Griner, a US citizen who also plays in the Russian Premier League, to nine years in prison for possession of less than a gram of hashish oil.
The Department of Justice didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
