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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Ukraine: Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman detained in Yekaterinburg

Yevgeny Roizman is led from his home on Wednesday

(Picture: AP)

A dissident Russian politician has reportedly been arrested after labelling the country’s invasion of Ukraine an “invasion”.

Prominent opposition politican Yevgeny Roizman - the former mayor of Yekaterinburg - was detained in the city on Wednesday, the BBC reports.

The politician is said to have told a reporter, as uniformed officers led him from his home, that he was being charged “for one phrase - ‘the invasion of Ukraine’”.

The BBC reports that he is being held on suspicion of “discrediting the Russian armed forces” - a charge that can reportedly carry a five-year prison sentence.

Roizman, 59, served as mayor of Yekaterinburg - Russia’s fourth-largest city - from 2013 to 2018.

His detention comes as part of a wider crackdown on critics of Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.

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