Spain has arrested a pro-Putin propagandist over high treason against Ukraine. Anatoly Shariy, a Ukrainian citizen, was detained by Spanish officials on Thursday. Ukraine's SBU domestic service had issued an international arrest warrant against the pro-Russian blogger, who is accused of disseminating pro-Kremlin propaganda during the 2014 revolt.
Officials have not released details of where they arrested Shariy but it's known that he was living in a town on Spain's Catalan coast for many years.
Shariy Published Investigative Reports
Shariy had claimed political asylum in the country and has been living in the country since 2016. He has been an investigative reporter and claimed that he busted a number of state-sponsored corruption in Ukraine.
Shariy had been stating that Ukraine's neo-Nazi groups have targeted them for exposing corruption. But Kyiv claimed that he has been promoting pro-Putin's narrative against Ukraine soon after the Crimea annexation.
Shariy Revealed Corruption in the Ukrainian Government
He was born in Ukraine and started his career in journalism in 2005. Shariy has published a number of investigative reports revealing highlighting the connections between the top government officials and organized crime happening in the country.
Soon after such reports, the journalist claimed that he was being targeted by the government and fled to Lithuania, where he received a five-year residency in 2012.
He had alleged that Kyiv officials were persecuting him for his investigative reports against the government.
When Russia took control of Crimea following the overthrow of the pro-Russian government from Kyiv, critics claimed that he turned completely a pro-Russian propagandist.
Critics have also revealed that Shariy published maps of Ukraine without Crimea and described Yanukovych's ouster as a 'coup, according to the Daily Mail.
But Shariy has been continuously doing his journalistic activities abroad. He runs popular YouTube and Telegram channels.
The arrest of Shariy comes as a number of European countries have taken action against popular pro-Russian figures over Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
