Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted citizenship to whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been living there since 2013 when he leaked information about U.S. surveillance programs.
Snowden, 39, was one of more than 70 foreigners granted citizenship Monday, just as Russia has begun drafting citizens to the front lines in its invasion of Ukraine.
The former NSA contractor faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of espionage charges in the U.S. for leaking top-secret NSA surveillance to the media.
He was granted permanent residency in Russia in 2020 without renouncing his American citizenship.
In a 2017 documentary by Oliver Stone, Putin said he did not consider Snowden a traitor.
“He did not betray the interests of his country, nor did he transfer any information to any other country which would have been pernicious to his own country or to his own people,” he said. “The only thing Snowden does, he does publicly.”
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