Ex-mayor arrested on charges of discrediting Russian army

MOSCOW (AP) — The former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city has been arrested on charges of discrediting the country’s military. It’s part of a crackdown on critics of Moscow’s military action in Ukraine. Police arrested Yevgeny Roizman on Wednesday following searches at his apartment and office. The 59-year-old served as the mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013-2018. He told reporters he was charged under a new law adopted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 that outlawed disparaging the military and the spread of “false information” about what the Kremlin describes as a “special military operation” in the neighboring country. Roizman faces up to five years in prison if convicted.