
Alyona Polyn, the 44-year-old who leads a group known as the "Empire's Most Powerful Witches", has attracted the attention of Ukrainian intelligence, which claims she has links to the Russian secret services, the FSB and the SVR.
Meanwhile, Western media reports that Polyn was considered one of Putin's closest confidants, often described as his "favorite witch". However, now Russian officials, as well as Putin, have declared him an "extremist". Alyona, also known as Elena Sulikova, is facing charges of insulting Russian Orthodox believers.
She claims that she inherited her magical powers from her grandmother and that she used them to support Putin and his campaign, performing magical rituals to weaken his opponents. However, Polyn has been questioned by the FSB after suspicious items such as voodoo dolls, black candles and idol statues were found on him.
Officials also reportedly discovered dead bats, ritual knives and crystal spheres among her belongings. This week, Moscow authorities accused him of extremism and contempt for the faithful, including him on the list of those under investigation.
Polyn made headlines in 2019 when he led a group of witches who performed rituals in support of Putin in order to make his opponents "disappear". One of their slogans read: "Russia will rise, following Vladimir Putin's path of justice through the power of my word."
In turn, Kiev claims that Polyn has recruited other witches to spy on Ukraine's military movements, according to British media reports.