Wallace final 12 months really useful serving to Ukraine perform a strike on the bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea.
Printed On 13 Could 2026
Russia has positioned British former Defence Minister Ben Wallace on a needed checklist in reference to an unspecified prison investigation, based on the Russian Inside Ministry’s database cited by state media.
State-run information company TASS quoted an unnamed supply in legislation enforcement as saying that the investigation was linked to “terrorism-related expenses”.
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Wallace served because the UK’s defence minister from 2019 – earlier than Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – till August 2023. He has continued to advocate boosting navy assist for Kyiv and condemned Russian aggression.
In October final 12 months, a regional Russian lawmaker referred to as for Wallace to be placed on Russia’s needed checklist over feedback he made the earlier month on the Warsaw Safety Discussion board about Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
On that event, Wallace really useful serving to Ukraine perform a navy strike on the bridge linking southern Russia to Crimea.
“We’ve to assist Ukraine have the long-range capabilities to make Crimea unviable. We have to choke the life out of Crimea. And if we try this, I believe [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will realise he’s bought one thing to lose,” he mentioned. “We have to smash the cursed bridge.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on the time described Wallace’s remarks as “silly”, stressing that Moscow doesn’t contemplate it essential to touch upon statements by former Western officers.
Crackdown on dissent
Quite a few people and teams inside and out of doors Russia have been prosecuted because the Kremlin has cracked down on dissent regarding its narrative of the warfare in Ukraine.
In 2024, Putin signed a legislation permitting authorities to confiscate the belongings of individuals convicted of spreading “intentionally false data” in regards to the navy. It covers offences resembling “justifying terrorism” and spreading “pretend information” in regards to the navy, and has been used extensively to silence Putin’s critics.
Final 12 months, Russia’s Federal Safety Service (FSB) opened a prison case towards exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of making a “terrorist organisation” and plotting to violently seize energy.
The FSB mentioned the fees associated to the actions of a Khodorkovsky-backed group that opposes the warfare in Ukraine. Khodorkovsky mentioned Russia was a “absolutely fledged totalitarian dictatorship” and promised to “battle for a Russia ruled by the rule of legislation and political pluralism”.
Moscow issued an arrest warrant for the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan in 2023 after he issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest on warfare crimes expenses.
It isn’t clear what number of overseas officers or public figures are on the Russian Inside Ministry’s database of needed individuals. Impartial information outlet Mediazona reported that the checklist consists of dozens of European politicians and officers.
