Russia has issued arrest warrants for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several former senior officials, including the former president. petro Poroshenko.
The wanted list published by Moscow’s Interior Ministry was updated on Tuesday to include President Zelenskiy. The arrest warrant states that the Ukrainian leader is wanted for violating Russian criminal law, but the exact nature of the alleged crime has not been made public.
Russian state media RT was suggested Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that threats made by Zelensky to destroy Russian infrastructure in the wake of Ukraine’s alleged attack on Crimean bridges prove he is a “terrorist.” It noted that the arrest warrant could be in response to unconventional tactics used by Ukraine. Kiev nature.
The wanted list has also been updated to include former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. He came to power after Russia described the Western-backed 2014 Euromaidan protests as a coup. Mr. Yanukovych was forced to step down after a violent campaign calling for closer economic ties. He strengthened ties with Russia and rejected proposals for further EU integration. Like Mr. Zelensky, the charges against Mr. Poroshenko have not been made public by the Kremlin.
The announcement comes as several former Ukrainian officials face arrest warrants issued on Friday, including former finance minister Alexander Shulapak and former central bank governor Stepan Kubiv.
An arrest warrant was also issued for Alexander Litvinenko, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
As the spring campaign season gets into full swing, Ukraine says “heavy fighting” is underway and “the situation on the front has worsened.”https://t.co/Vrox8GJvxj
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 29, 2024
Russia’s move is likely to further dampen hopes for a peace summit scheduled to be held in Switzerland in mid-June. Nevertheless, neither side seems willing to give up any ground in the conflict, with Russia flatly rejecting Ukraine’s demands to return the territory it occupies before negotiations even begin.
Ukraine also claims that freezing the lines of conflict under the ceasefire agreement will only allow Russia to regroup and prepare to re-invade Ukraine at a later date.
Regardless of Kiev’s hardline stance, Russia appears poised to make further territorial gains as Moscow’s forces advance, fending off last year’s much-touted Ukrainian Spring counteroffensive.
In April, the recently appointed commander-in-chief of Ukraine, Oleksandr Shirushkyi, admitted that “the situation on the Eastern Front has deteriorated significantly” following the Russian presidential election and the thawing of the winter.
Despite the increasingly bleak outlook for Ukraine, Western countries appear willing to double down on support for Zelenskiy under the Biden administration, which last month, with support from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secured $60 billion in additional aid to Ukraine. .
Zelenskiy’s chief of staff vows “no compromise” with Russia, insists Russia wants to keep fightinghttps://t.co/yr9j7wd2p9
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 6, 2024
