INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia on Thursday arrested a former regional official on allegations of financing the Ukrainian armed forces, state media reported.Moscow
has made a string of arrests of people it says have sponsored the Ukrainian army since Russia launched its full-scale military campaign
against its neighbor in February last year.The FSB security agency said Thursday it had arrested a former civil servant in the southern
made more than 60 transfers totaling over 330,000 rubles ($3,700) to Ukrainian bank accounts used to finance the armed forces of Ukraine,"
the TASS news agency cited the FSB as saying in a statement.It did not name the individual or say which government agency they worked
for.Investigators said the money was used to purchase weapons and uniforms for Ukrainian soldiers, including before February 2022, when
Russian-backed separatist forces were fighting against the Ukrainian army in the eastern Donbas region.Against the backdrop of its offensive
on Ukraine, Moscow has escalated an intense domestic crackdown on dissent, handing out long prison sentences to those who speak out against
the conflict or publicly back Ukraine.
