Law enforcement officers in Russia have searched the homes of several former lawmakers and a politician who allegedly have ties with former parliamentary deputy Ilya Ponomaryov, the fourth wave of raids on homes of individuals linked to him since September.
Russia's news agencies reported on June 13 that the homes of former State Duma lawmakers Margarita Svergunova and Oleg Gonzharov, politician Boris Konovalov, as well as the home of former municipal lawmaker Nikita Ilyin were searched in Moscow. The home of the former lawmaker Solomon Ginzburg in Russia's western exclave, Kaliningrad, was also searched.
Reports said the searches were conducted as part of a probe launched against Ponomaryov, who currently resides in neighboring Ukraine, but did not specify what structures of the country’s law enforcement carried them out.
After Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ponomaryov joined Ukraine's territorial defense group and created two YouTube channels -- February's Morning and Rospartizan (Russian Guerilla), through which he has called on Russian citizens to arm themselves and fight against their authorities at home.
Russia's Investigative Committee launched a probe against Ponomaryov, accusing him of discrediting Russia's armed forces.
Ponomaryov, 47, was the only lawmaker in parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, who voted against Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
He fled Russia for the United States the same year and later moved to Ukraine, where he has lived since.
In January, the Russian Interior Ministry added Ponomaryov to its list of terrorists and extremists.
Last August, a court in Moscow issued an arrest warrant for Ponomaryov on a charge of discrediting the Russian armed forces. The charge stemmed from his interview with the Forum of a Free Russia YouTube channel, in which he condemned the war in Ukraine.