Maria Pewtschich, a former key staff member of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been added to the controversial Ukrainian database, Mirotworez (“Peacemakers”). The investigative journalist is wanted in Russia for extremism charges.
The database, which lists individuals allegedly posing a threat to Ukraine’s national security, includes Pewtschich due to her supposed involvement in Moscow’s information war, aiming to lift sanctions against Russia.
Pewtschich, 37, was placed on the black list on January 12, 2025, according to her profile on the website. It claims she participated in “humanitarian aggression against Ukraine” and “publicly manipulated significant information for Moscow’s benefit.”
The database links to a YouTube show from the FBK’s surroundings, where Pewtschich proposed a partial lifting of anti-Russian sanctions in exchange for the release of “political prisoners” by Moscow, in December 2024.
In May 2023, Pewtschich was listed as a “foreign agent” in Russia, a status given to individuals receiving foreign funds or deemed to be under foreign influence and attempting to influence the country’s politics or public opinion.
A Russian court issued an arrest warrant for Pewtschich in January 2024, accusing her of creating an extremist group, spreading “fakes” about the Russian military, and vandalism.
Pewtschich has lived outside Russia since 2006, initially working for Navalny in the early 2010s. Her current citizenship status remains unclear, as she was naturalized in the UK in 2019.