DNA

LONDON: Russia has ‌placed British former defense minister Ben Wallace on a wanted list in connection with an unspecified criminal investigation, state media said on Wednesday, citing the Russian Interior Ministry’s database.

Wallace served as the UK’s defense minister from before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 until August 2023, since when he has continued to advocate for ‌boosting military support ‌for Kyiv and condemned ‌Russian ⁠aggression.

The state media ⁠reports did not give further details and Wallace did not reply to a request for comment.

Last October, a regional Russian lawmaker called for Wallace to be put on Russia’s international wanted list ⁠over comments he made at the ‌Warsaw Security Forum ‌about Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in ‌2014.

Speaking at the forum in September, ‌Wallace had recommended helping Ukraine carry out a military strike on the bridge which links southern Russia to Crimea.

“We have to help Ukraine ‌have the long-range capabilities to make Crimea unviable. We need to ⁠choke ⁠the life out of Crimea. And if we do that, I think Putin will realize he’s got something to lose,” he said. “We need to smash the cursed bridge.”

It is not clear how many foreign officials or public figures are on the Russian Interior Ministry’s database of wanted persons. In 2024, independent news outlet Mediazona said the list included dozens of European politicians and officials.