**U.S. Citizen Wanted for Child Sex Crimes Arrested in Ukraine After 3 Decades on the Run**
A 66-year-old U.S. citizen, who had been living in Ukraine under a false identity, has been arrested by Ukrainian authorities after more than three decades on the run. The man, whose name is not being disclosed, is wanted for multiple child sex crimes committed in Arizona in the 1980s and early 1990s.
According to U.S. law enforcement, the suspect worked as the director of a preschool in Pima County, Arizona, where he committed a series of sexual offenses against four children aged 4 to 9 between 1984 and 1991. Before sentencing by the Arizona Superior Court, he fled the U.S. and avoided prosecution for over 30 years.
Ukrainian authorities located the suspect using digital tools, including open-source intelligence analysis. He was found living in a house in Kyiv Oblast, where law enforcement carried out a search and arrested him at his residence. Prosecutors are currently preparing a request to a Ukrainian court for temporary arrest pending extradition.
The suspect faces 15 counts under criminal law related to the sexual abuse of children. This case highlights the importance of international cooperation in criminal justice, particularly in extraditing individuals accused of grave crimes, including those involving the sexual exploitation of children.
**Russian Drone Attack on Ukraine**
Meanwhile, Russia launched a deadly missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on June 24, striking civilian infrastructure and a passenger train. The attack comes as Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 52 Russian Shahed-type attack drones and decoys launched from multiple directions, including Bryansk, Millerovo, Kursk, and occupied Crimea.
Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General has expressed its commitment to international cooperation in criminal justice, particularly in extraditing individuals accused of grave crimes, including those involving the sexual exploitation of children.
**NATO Summit and Ukraine Support**
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated the EU’s ongoing support for Ukraine at a NATO summit in The Hague. Lithuania has signed a memorandum with American defense firm Northrop Grumman and Norwegian Nammo to secure the production of ammunition amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Ukraine has reduced its mined territory by over 20% since late 2022, but around 137,000 square kilometers (52,900 square miles) — much of it farmland — remain hazardous. President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Russia would never have been able to carry out such drone attacks without support from Iran, and Ukraine, in turn, could not have intercepted most of the drones without the help of its international partners.
**International Efforts to Hold Russian Officials Accountable**
The move marks a milestone in international efforts to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials accountable for launching the full-scale war against Ukraine. Britain will finance the procurement of Ukrainian-designed drones manufactured in the UK, while Denmark has already allocated $47 million for the project.
President Zelensky urged allies to scale up investments in joint weapons production, including drone technologies, artillery, and interceptors. He argued that Ukraine’s defense capabilities are not only key to defending its own territory but essential to strengthening NATO’s long-term security.
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