Russia puts Zelensky on wanted list

MOSCOW/KYIV — Russia has opened a criminal case against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and put him on a wanted list, the state news agency reported on Saturday, an announcement Ukraine has dismissed.

TASS reported that the Russian Interior Ministry database showed Zelensky was on a wanted list but gave no further details.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said the Russian announcement was "evidence of the desperation of the Russian state machine and propaganda".

Russia's wanted list also includes scores of officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and NATO countries. Among them is Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia.

Russian officials in February said that Kallas is wanted because of Tallinn's efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments to Red Army soldiers in the Baltic nation.

Meanwhile, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and scores of other worshippers in Moscow attended an Easter service on Sunday, led by the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.

Zelensky called on his fellow Ukrainians on Sunday to unite in prayer for each other and the soldiers on the front line.

Accusations dismissed

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that NATO's four-month-long military exercises near Russia's borders, known as Steadfast Defender, are proof the alliance is preparing for a potential conflict with Russia.

She dismissed accusations by NATO last week that Russia is engaged in hybrid attacks on its member states, saying this was "misinformation" aimed at distracting people from the alliance's activities.

On the battlefield, the Russian defense ministry said on Saturday its air defense forces shot down four US-produced long-range missiles over the Crimean Peninsular, weapons known as Army Tactical Missile Systems that Washington had shipped to Ukraine in recent weeks.

The ministry said later that Russian aircraft and air defense systems had downed a total of 15 ATACMS in the past week.

A US official said in Washington last month that the United States secretly shipped longrange missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks.

Ukraine's air force said on Sunday on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine's air defense systems destroyed 23 of 24 attack drones that Russia launched targeting Ukraine's territory.

XINHUA