A Russian court sentenced Vladimir Zhuravlev, a 66-year-old local historian and former municipal deputy, to three years in a general regime penal colony for spreading alleged military "fakes." Zhuravlev was taken into custody in the courtroom. He was accused of posting anti-war messages in April 2022 on a VKontakte group, containing allegedly false information about the actions of the Russian army.

The charges stemmed from posts that included claims about soldiers being "cannon fodder" and the "insane bunker fuhrer's" attempt to seize Ukraine, as well as statements questioning the existence of the Russian people following the "Putin aggression." Zhuravlev admitted to writing the posts but denied acting out of hatred for the army, citing his books on military glory and his parents' wartime experiences advocating for peace.