Russia has placed former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on its wanted list in connection with a criminal investigation, the nature of which Russian authorities have not specified. The information was reported by state media, citing the Russian Interior Ministry's database.
No details have been released regarding the accusations against the former British official. This decision comes amid heightened tensions between London and Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Ben Wallace served as the UK's Defence Secretary until August 2023. During his tenure, he was one of the main European supporters of military aid provided to Kyiv after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
After leaving the government, he continued to publicly advocate for increased Western support for Ukraine and regularly criticized Russian military action. These positions make him a particularly vulnerable figure in the diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Reacting to the decision, Ben Wallace stated that he was not surprised by the move, which he considered a political maneuver by the Kremlin. He asserted that this measure came at a time when Russia, in his view, was facing difficulties both domestically and internationally.
This announcement illustrates a new symbolic escalation in the diplomatic confrontation between Moscow and Western countries, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the hardening of relations between Russia and its European and American adversaries.
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