By Lucy Papachristou
March 19 (Reuters) – A pro-Kremlin figure who unexpectedly denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine in a social media post this week that went viral has been placed in a psychiatric facility, Russian media reported on Thursday.
Ilya Remeslo made a career denouncing Putin’s critics until he became one himself, posting a manifesto late on Tuesday to his 90,000 followers on Telegram entitled: “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin.”
He said Putin had prosecuted a “failing war” in Ukraine that had killed millions and torpedoed Russia’s economy to the detriment of its citizens’ well-being.
“Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate president. Vladimir Putin must resign and be brought to trial as a war criminal and a thief,” Remeslo wrote in his post.
On Thursday, St Petersburg’s Fontanka newspaper reported Remeslo had been hospitalised in the city’s Psychiatric Hospital No. 3. It said the hospital’s information desk confirmed a patient with Remeslo’s name and surname was available to receive packages.
Reuters was unable to immediately confirm Remeslo was in the facility. Fontanka did not specify the grounds on which he may have been admitted.
(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones)
