Russia has opened a criminal case against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and put him on the list of wanted persons, the Russian state agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing the database of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, reports Reuters.
Volodymyr ZelenskyPhoto: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The mention in the database does not provide any other details, Reuters states.
Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has issued arrest warrants for several Ukrainian and European politicians.
In February, the Russian police put the head of the government of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, but also the Lithuanian minister of culture and members of the former Latvian parliament on a wanted list for the destruction of some monuments from the Soviet era.
Russia has also issued an arrest warrant against the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, who last year announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
How did Kiev react?
19:53 Putting President Volodymyr Zelensky on Russia’s wanted list is a “desperate” attempt to attract attention, says Kiev.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that this demonstrates “the desperation of the Russian state and propaganda machine, which no longer knows what else to invent to attract attention.”
The Ukrainian MFA also sent: “We would like to remind everyone that, contrary to the worthless Russian announcements, the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for war crimes is real and applicable in 123 countries.” .
_____
