A Moscow district court has granted a motion to arrest in absentia the top Ukrainian military official Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate.
The decision was published on the official court website, where it was spotted by Mediazona.
The Russian prosecutors’ allegations against Budanov include creating a terrorist organization, preparations for a terrorist act as part of an organized extremist group, and illegal arms and explosives dealing. Under Russian criminal law, the maximal penalty for these offenses is a life in prison.
Following the Crimean Bridge explosion, Russia’s Federal Security Service (“FSB”) declared Budanov to be one of the organizers of the incident.
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