A top Russian propagandist has been arrested in Moldova, in a hammer blow to Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Chistilin was arrested in a joint operation involving Ukrainian and Moldovan security services.
The Kremlin official was caught while attending a forum to discuss war support for Kyiv, posing as a representative of Ukrainian civilian society.
The propagandist is reported to have attended similar conferences, where he helped spread Kremlin narratives about the war.
Chistilin also actively promoted Kremlin interests outside of Russia, and has been reportedly accused of interference in elections in Central and Eastern European countries.
He has been charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – treason and justifying Russia‘s armed aggression.
He faces life imprisonment and confiscation of property if found guilty by a court of law.
Chistilin is an assistant to Sergei Glazyev, an economist and former adviser to Russia‘s President.
In the years before Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, Glazyev was one of the leading enthusiasts for a confrontation with Ukraine.
He drew up plans to absorb Ukraine into a Russian-led Eurasian Union, and in the weeks and days before the annexation was in touch with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, promising Kremlin support and providing finance.
Glazyev also wrote the Information Warfare Strategy, which justified Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Working together with Glazier, Chistilin prepared several “analytical materials” for the Kremlin.
These made the case for Putin’s armed aggression and promoted the “integration” of the occupied territories of Ukraine into Russia.
He also wrote numerous publications aimed at information attacks against Ukraine.
This comes amid reports that Russia plans to significantly increase its military spending in 2025.
The draft state budget includes an allocation of 13.2 trillion rubles (£104 billion) for defence spending and the war against Ukraine.
This amount will represent over a third of all budget expenditures and will be a record high.