The resident of the south-eastern city of Khabarovsk was charged with high treason and arrested by Moscow’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after allegedly offering to send information to Ukraine “that could be used to the detriment of the Russian Federation’s security.” This comes as Putin maintains that his invasion is a “special military operation.” According to the state news agency TASS, the individual approached Ukrainians and offered to reveal national secrets to the country.

According to the FSB, “a Khabarovsk resident anonymously applied to the Ukrainian special service via the Internet with a proposal to transfer information for a monetary reward.”

It went on to say that the resident was “pursuing mercenary intent” by carrying out actions that could harm and even “sabotage” the Kremlin’s mission to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” the country.

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia has seen a mass exodus of political activists, journalists, and others who were critical of the war but were afraid of the consequences if they spoke out.

On March 17, the Kremlin stated that the absence of anti-war Russians “mentally” aligned with “the collective West” would benefit society.

President Putin referred to a “cleansing” of “scum and traitors,” reinforcing an already well-known approach to those who oppose his regime’s ideas.

“The Russian people will always be able to tell true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths,” he said.

“I am convinced that such a natural and necessary cleansing of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion, and preparedness to face any challenges.”

His remarks came after the passage of two new laws that made independent war reporting and protesting the war illegal, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison.

The laws, which were rushed through parliament on March 4, make it illegal to spread “fake news” about the Russian military, call for the withdrawal of its forces, and express support for Western sanctions imposed on Russian targets.

Putin’s censorship efforts evoke dreadful memories of the Stalin era’s mass arrests, when repressions were justified as “cleansing” Soviet society of traitors.

More than 10,000 people have been arrested in Russia for protesting Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine, according to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info.

As of March 14, there had been nearly 15,000 detentions, including children and the elderly.

On March 13, 817 people were arrested during demonstrations in 37 Russian cities.

There have also been reports of employees being fired or expelled from universities for criticising Putin’s actions.

On Thursday, March 24, the US officially accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine for the first time, and vowed to pursue accountability after analysing public and intelligence sources that assisted it in reaching the conclusion.

Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, stated: “Today, I can announce that, based on current information, the US government believes that members of Russia’s forces committed war crimes in Ukraine.

“As with any alleged crime, determining criminal guilt in specific cases is ultimately the responsibility of a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime.

“We are committed to pursuing accountability through all available means, including criminal prosecutions.”