Russia puts Zelensky on 'wanted list'

Russia has initiated a criminal case against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and put him on a wanted list on unspecified charges.

Citing the Russian interior ministry’s database, Reuters and Associated Press said both Zelensky and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, featured on the wanted list of people.

However, the allegations against any of the men were not clarified immediately. An independent Russian news outlet claimed on Saturday that both Zelensky and Poroshenko had been listed since at least late February.

In a statement published that same day, Ukraine’s foreign ministry dismissed the reports of Zelensky’s inclusion as evidence of ‘the desperation of the Russian state machine and propaganda’.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was himself subject to arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant.