Russia issues wanted notice for ex-Latvian deputy fighting for Ukraine

Russia has issued an international search warrant for former Latvian MP Juris Jurašs, who joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces during the full-scale war.

According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the indictment against Jurašs was approved by the Prosecutor's Office of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Jurašs is accused of "mercenarism" and "spreading deliberately false information" under Russian criminal code articles.

Forty-nine-year-old Jurašs has been fighting as a volunteer in Ukraine’s Armed Forces since August 2022 and receiving a salary as a soldier. He is also being charged for his social media posts and interviews about the war, including reports of Russian military atrocities in the city of Bucha in Kyiv Oblast.

"The accused has been declared internationally wanted and the court has chosen in absentia as a pre-trial restriction that he be remanded in custody," the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said, adding that the case will be tried in absentia by the Supreme Court of the DPR.

Juris Jurašs, the then chairman of the legal commission of the Latvian Seimas and a member of the New Conservative Party, decided to fight for Ukraine almost immediately after the full-scale war began. He resigned from his office. 

Then, the Latvian Seimas amended the national security law to allow Latvian citizens to fight for Ukraine.