“Vladimir Alexandrovich Zelenskyj, January 25, 1978. Wanted under an article of the Criminal Code“. This is the message that appeared in the search database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. It means, in other words, that Volodymyr Zelensky was included in the wanted list of Moscow. The crime for which the Ukrainian president is wanted was not disclosed, nor was the article of the Russian criminal code cited by the Kremlin authorities specified. From what little has filtered out, the Kiev head of state has ended up at the center of acriminal investigation just opened within Russia.
Zelensky wanted
As reported by the Russian news agency Ria NovostiThe Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moscow has placed Volodymyr Zelensky on the wanted list. In the databases the place of birth of the wanted person is also indicated: Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukraine. This news could mark a new escalation between Russia and Ukraine, given that the inclusion of the Ukrainian president in the Kremlin’s “black list” suggests that the leader of Kiev could turn into a objective Russian to all intents and purposes.
The wanted list in which Zelensky now appears is quite large. As the site pointed out MediazoneRussia is actively seeking not only dozens of politicians And officials foreigners – against whom criminal charges have been brought – but also a head of state: Kaja Kallas, the Estonian Prime Minister. Between most wanted We also find numerous high-ranking Ukrainian military officers and hundreds of individuals whom Kremlin investigators have labeled as “foreign mercenaries” in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The majority of foreigners targeted by Moscow police departments, therefore, turn out to be Ukrainian. At least 176 people were prosecuted in absentia for various reasons, including participation in the war, connections with the Ukrainian authorities or public statements. Russia also targeted three former Ukrainian defense ministers (Mykhailo Koval, Stepan Poltorak, Andriy Zagorodnyuk), two former heads of the armed forces (Mykhailo Kutsyn, Ruslan Khomchak) and several generals.
A new escalation?
In short, Zelensky represents the icing on the cake of a list that is already quite rich in names. For the record, even the former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenkopresident of Ukraine from 2014-2019, was put on the wanted list.
As for the current leader of Kiev, Zelensky had raised an alarm in the last few hours regarding a Russian offensive: “We are now facing a new phase of the war. The occupier is preparing to try to expand offensive actions and we all together, all Ukrainians, our soldiers, our state, our partners, must do everything to counter the Russian offensive plan“.
The war, meanwhile, does not stop. The Ukrainian village of Ocheretynein the Donetsk region, was destroyed by fighting with the Russian armed forces.
Kremlin troops are advancing into the area, hitting their depleted and ammunition-depleted rivals with artillery, drones and bombs.
