Former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace placed on Russia’s wanted list
Russia has added Britain’s former defense minister Ben Wallace to its wanted list in connection with an unspecified criminal investigation, state media reported Wednesday, citing a Russian Interior Ministry database.
Mr Wallace served as Britain’s defense secretary from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 until August 2023.
Since leaving office, he has consistently advocated for increased military support to Kiev and has been a vocal critic of Russian aggression.
State media reports gave no further details of the investigation and Mr Wallace has not yet responded to requests for comment.
This development follows calls last October from a regional Russian MP for Mr Wallace to be added to Russia’s international wanted list.
This demand stemmed from comments he made at the Warsaw Security Forum in September, in which he suggested helping Ukraine launch a military attack on the bridge connecting southern Russia to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
“We must help Ukraine acquire the long-term capabilities to make Crimea uninhabitable. We must strangle life in Crimea.
“And if we do that, I think Putin will realize he has something to lose,” he said.
“We need to destroy the cursed bridge.”
It is unclear how many foreign officials or public figures are in the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry’s wanted persons database.
Independent news outlet Mediazona said dozens of European politicians and officials were on the list in 2024.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the news came as more than 100 Russian drones targeted parts of Ukraine on Wednesday, hours after another missile bombardment of civilian areas killed at least eight people.
“Russia continues its attacks and does so brazenly, deliberately targeting our railway infrastructure and civilian areas in our cities,” Zelensky said in a post on channel X.
According to Zelensky, the night attacks targeted residential and railway infrastructure in Ukraine’s central Dnipro and northeastern Kharkiv regions, port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region, and energy facilities in the central Poltava region.
He said 14 districts were attacked throughout the day on Tuesday.
“It is important to support Ukraine and not remain silent about Russia’s war. Every time the war disappears from the news, it encourages Russia to become even more brutal,” Zelensky said, clearly referring to the fact that the Iran war has attracted world attention.
Even though Ukraine is encouraged by its recent military successes and US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin claim – without providing evidence – that the war is nearing its end, Moscow’s attacks on its neighbor continue unabated.
