Resident of Russia’s Pskov slapped with fine for talking about the war on the street

A court in Russia’s Pskov has fined local resident Alexey Perepelitsyn to the tune of 30,000 rubles (€500) for “discrediting” the Russian army by talking about the war on the street, the court reports on its website.

According to the court, on 19 May, the man “publicly conveyed information aimed to discredit the use of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine.”

On 25 May, the Tambov district court issued a 30,000-ruble fine to a deaf and speech-impaired Ukrainian citizen for “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces over a picture he sent on Viber. The picture showed a woman dressed in a national Ukrainian costume hitting a soldier in Russian military uniform, signed “I’m hitting the Russian soldier with a pussy willow on this great day.” Pussy willows are used by Orthodox churches as a symbol of Palm Sunday, celebrated one week before Easter.