Russia Lists Ukrainian President Zelensky As 'Wanted Criminal'
Volodymyr Zelensky's name was spotted on Saturday within the Russian interior ministry's online platform dedicated to tracking down alleged offenders.
Russia has officially included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in its list of wanted persons, a development swiftly dismissed by Kyiv as a manifestation of Moscow’s desperation, news agency AFP reported. The Ukrainian President’s name was spotted on Saturday within the Russian interior ministry’s online platform dedicated to tracking down alleged offenders.
According to the AFP report, Ukrainian leaders are being sought “under an article of the criminal code,” although precise details regarding the accusation remain undisclosed.
At present, Russian authorities have not issued any immediate statement elucidating the rationale behind Zelendky’s inclusion in the list.
The response from Ukraine’s foreign ministry labelled the decision as indicative of “the desperation of the Russiam state machine and propaganda, which are at a loss for what else to invent to garner attention,” the AFP report said.
This latest move is part of a consistent targeting of Zelensky by Moscow, dating back to the outset of Russia's military incursion into Ukraine in February 2022.
Previously, Zelensky publicly acknowledged the thwarting of "five or six" assassination attempts against him within the past year.
In the wake of deploying troops into Ukrainian territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, called upon the Ukrainian military to initiate the removal of Zelensky from office.
Notably, Russia has a history of placing foreign political figures and personalities on its wanted list, which boasts tens of thousands of entries.
Joining Zelensky on the list were Oleksandr Pavliuk, the commander of Ukraine's Land Forces, and former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
In a similar vein, Moscow had previously sought Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, citing her alleged involvement in what the Kremlin deemed the "desecration of historical memory" due to Estonia's demolition of Soviet-era monuments.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes related to the abduction of Ukrainian children, allegations vehemently denied by the Russian authorities.
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