Russia Places German Journalist Michael Martens on Wanted List

Russia is working to place German journalist Michael Martens on the international wanted list following his question to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 8 about what European countries could do to help Ukraine kill more Russian soldiers. Martens, a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), could face up to six years in prison if convicted under Part 2 of Article 282 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which concerns incitement to hatred or enmity, according to TASS citing an anonymous source on Aug. 15.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “At the moment, Martens is only listed in the Interior Ministry’s wanted-person database. But he has not yet been declared wanted internationally,” according to TASS. “This will happen after the necessary procedural process is completed.” Martens’ connection to the Balkans Zelensky arrived in Serbia on Aug. 7, for the first time since taking office in 2019, to begin bilateral talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Đuro Macut on economic ties, EU relations and broader security. Martens attended a joint press conference in Belgrade on Aug. 8 during the meeting of the two leaders, and asked what Europeans could “specifically do” to help Ukraine “kill more Russians,” before clarifying that he meant Russian soldiers, not regular citizens. “Neither Zelensky nor Vučić answered the question, but TV cameras captured the appalled look on the face of the Serbian president,” AFP reported. Other Topics of Interest Russia’s Greatest Enemy Is Inside the Kremlin As economic pressure mounts and patronage networks run dry, the real war is no longer fought on foreign battlefields, but inside Moscow’s intelligence apparatus where loyalties are sold off. The question drew criticism in Russia, Serbia, and Germany, prompting an online petition demanding that Martens be fired. It is worth noting that Serbia has remained one of the few European countries to refuse to join Western sanctions against Russia, while its strong ties to Russia trace back to a shared history as former communist states, with Serbia having been part of ex-Yugoslavia and Russia a Soviet successor state. Martens spent six years living in Belgrade. He lived in Kyiv as well, and at one point, he even lived in Russia’s St. Petersburg. He wrote and published multiple books about Yugoslavia and its artists, particularly Ivo Andrić – a Yugoslavian novelist and poet who won the Nobel Prize in 1961. Serbia is often described as a hybrid regime, or what critics call a “flawed democracy” – something Martens has strongly criticized throughout his career. Though his journalistic work aims at critical analysis rather than anti-Serbian bias, he extensively covered the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Croatian War of Independence, and, in his writing, sharply criticized Vučić’s past conduct and political positions connected to the conflicts – including his alleged time as a volunteer in Bosnian Serb-controlled territory during the Bosnian war. FAZ responds by defending Martens FAZ responded by defending Martens, stating that “the question referred to current debates” on ways to put pressure on Russia. Nevertheless, the newspaper “regretted” that the question had been “phrased ambiguously,” according to AFP, adding that its editorial position was not that as many Russian soldiers as possible should be killed. On social media, particularly on X, Martens stood by his position in the face of criticism, insisting that wanting the soldiers to be killed is a “noble objective.” The Russian Embassy in Berlin said Tuesday, Aug. 18, that it had requested a legal assessment from Berlin prosecutors, claiming that the remarks could constitute incitement to hatred or public calls for illegal acts. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also called the remark unacceptable and criminal, according to TASS. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.