Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry鈥檚 database.
As of Saturday afternoon, both Zelenskyy and his predecessor, , featured on the ministry's list of people wanted on unspecified criminal charges. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, was also on the list.
Russian officials did not immediately clarify the allegations against any of the men. Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet, claimed Saturday that both Zelenskyy and Poroshenko had been listed since at least late February.
In an online statement published that same day, Ukraine鈥檚 foreign ministry dismissed the reports of Zelenskyy鈥檚 inclusion as evidence of 鈥渢he desperation of the Russian state machine and propaganda.鈥
Russia's wanted list also includes scores of officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and NATO countries. Among them is who has fiercely advocated for increased military aid to Kyiv and stronger sanctions against Moscow.
Russian officials in February said that Kallas is wanted because of Tallinn鈥檚 efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments to Red Army soldiers in the Baltic nation, in a belated purge of what many consider symbols of past oppression.
Fellow NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have also pulled down monuments that are widely seen as an unwanted legacy of the Soviet occupation of those countries.
Russia has laws criminalizing the 鈥渞ehabilitation of Nazism鈥 that include punishing the 鈥渄esecration鈥 of war memorials.
Also on Russia鈥檚 list are cabinet ministers from Estonia and Lithuania, as well as the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who on war crimes charges. Moscow has also charged the head of Ukraine鈥檚 military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, with what it deems 鈥渢errorist鈥 activities, including Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian infrastructure.
The Kremlin has repeatedly sought to link Ukraine鈥檚 leaders to Nazism, even though the country has a democratically elected Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust, and despite the aim of many Ukrainians to strengthen the country鈥檚 democracy, reduce corruption and move closer to the West.
Moscow named 鈥渄e-Nazification, de-militarization and a neutral status鈥 of Ukraine as the of what it insists on calling a 鈥渟pecial military operation鈥 against its southern neighbor. The claim of 鈥渄e-Nazification鈥 refers to Russia鈥檚 false assertions that Ukraine鈥檚 government is heavily influenced by radical nationalist and neo-Nazi groups - an allegation derided by Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Holocaust, World War II and Nazism have been important tools for Putin in his bid to legitimize Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine. World War II, in which the Soviet Union lost an estimated 27 million people, is a linchpin of Russia鈥檚 national identity, and officials bristle at any questioning of the USSR鈥檚 role.
Some historians say this has been coupled with certain historical truths from the war. They say Russia has tried to magnify the Soviet role in defeating the Nazis while playing down any collaboration by Soviet citizens in the persecution of Jews, along with allegations of crimes by Red Army soldiers against civilians in Eastern Europe.
