Journalist and editor-in-chief of Agentura.ru news outlet Andrei Soldatov has been added to the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted list. His name appears in the ministry’s database.
“A fun way to start your Monday: all my accounts in Russian banks have been frozen, and I’ve found myself on the Interior Ministry’s wanted list. The case was opened on 17 March 2022, it is likely processed by the Main Investigative Department of the Russian Investigative Committee. The case number differs by a few digits from the case of Michael Nacke and Ruslan Leviev. We are currently figuring out the details,” the Agentura.ru Telegram channel reports.
Earlier, Ruslan Leviev, head of Conflict Intelligence Team, and Michael Nacke, a Russian journalist, were accused of “spreading fake news about the Russian army” for covering the events of 4 March when the Russian army shelled The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine.
Attorney Pavel Chikov suggests that Soldatov may have been charged under the same article, which introduces criminal liability for spreading “fake news” about the Russian military.
Agentura.ru has covered the activity of the Russian special forces since its establishment in 2000. In recent months, the outlet has published several investigations on the war in Ukraine.
