Top Russian official ‘arrested on suspicion of taking bribes’ and faces ’15 years in prison’

VLADIMIR Putin’s henchmen have dramatically arrested a top Russian official on suspicion of taking bribes.

Timur Ivanov, 48, one of Russia’s 12 deputy defense ministers, now faces a 15-year prison sentence for taking “hefty” bribes – a criminal offense in Russia.

Ivanov, the top official responsible for building military facilities in the country, was arrested by the Investigative Committee, Russia’s top law enforcement agency.

He has been accused of taking bribes of more than a million rubles (£8,500), it is understood.

A Kremlin spokesman said both Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu were aware of the arrest.

Ivanov was sanctioned by both the US and the European Union in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.

He was appointed to the post by presidential decree in 2016 and oversaw the military’s real estate management, housing and medical support.

Russian media claimed he was in charge of extensive construction work in Mariupol – a port city in Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk region, which was heavily bombed and occupied by Russian forces in 2022.

The Russian military previously reported that the ministry was building an entire residential block in the badly damaged city – and had Ivanov inspect construction sites.

That same year, the team of the late Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin’s biggest critic, alleged that Ivanov and his family had lived an extravagant life full of lavish foreign trips, lavish parties and elite real estate, hinting at corruption.

Ivanov now joins the list of many such high-profile arrests under Putin’s regime.

Last December, the general responsible for Putin’s feared “Satan-2” nuclear weapons was dramatically arrested in a fraud scandal that rocked Moscow.

Lt. Gen. Oleg Frolov, 61, deputy director of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, was detained along with two other alleged co-conspirators.

He was accused of starring in a play aimed at stealing £4 million from the Russian state, which is known for its corruption.

Ukraine is preparing for a mega blitz

The high-profile arrest comes as Russia stepped up its attack on Ukraine, signaling Putin’s feared spring offensive that could begin as soon as next month.

For weeks, Putin’s army has been bombarding Ukraine with relentless waves of missile and drone strikes, terrorizing its 1.3 million residents and killing dozens.

Kharkiv’s power stations have been particularly badly damaged since Russia began targeting critical civilian infrastructure last month, with an emphasis on the energy system.

On March 22, Russian attacks destroyed the city’s two main power plants and a network of substations, plunging the city into darkness and leaving thousands without electricity.

Last week, Kharkiv’s mayor warned that the frontline city is in danger of becoming a “second Aleppo” as Russian airstrikes turn it into a wasteland.

Ihor Terekhov said that unless the West intervenes and provides crucial air defense systems, Kharkiv could suffer the same fate as the Syrian city, which was reduced to rubble by heavy Russian bombing a decade ago.

He implored the West to intervene and provide crucial air defense.

Referring to the now-passed £50 billion US aid bill, he told the Guardian: “We need that support to prevent Kharkov becoming another Aleppo.”

Shipments of US weapons are expected to begin within days after Republican members of Congress finally ended a five-month deadlock in the House of Representatives.

The $61 billion (£49 billion) package will receive final approval from the US Senate today.

Zelensky said the new weapons would allow Ukraine’s armed forces to “stabilize the front line.”