Poroshenko was also affected
Moscow puts Zelenskyj on wanted list
May 4, 2024, 5:58 p.m
According to state information, the Russian authorities are initiating criminal proceedings against Ukrainian President Zelensky, like his predecessor Poroshenko. No details are given.
Russia has put a wanted notice on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russian news agencies reported this, citing a wanted list from the Interior Ministry in Moscow. Zelenskyj, born in 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, is wanted under criminal law, it says. The ministry did not give the reason for the persecution.
In the past, Russia has put other high-ranking politicians on its wanted list, such as Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. The measure has no direct impact on Zelensky since the Ukrainian president is not on Russian soil. It is seen as more of a symbolic act. Russia has justified its war of aggression against Ukraine, among other things, with the alleged oppression of the Russian-speaking population in the neighboring country. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who gave the order to attack, is himself wanted by the International Criminal Court with an arrest warrant.
The Russian news agency TASS also reports that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has been put on a wanted list. Here too, the agency relies on the Interior Ministry’s wanted list. The reason is not clear from this.
Poroshenko lost the 2019 elections to Volodymyr Zelensky after five years in office. He recently publicly harbored ambitions of returning to the highest state office, even though it is currently not possible to vote because of the Russian war of aggression. “If you ask me whether I would like to take part in the next elections – yes,” the former head of state told the Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera. Poroshenko is a competitor of Zelenskyj in domestic politics, but after Russia’s comprehensive invasion in 2022, he announced that he would support Zelenskyj in the fight against Putin.