The Moscow Times correspondent detained in Belgorod Region released by police with a 500 ruble fine

The Moscow Times correspondent Kirill Ponomarev, who was detained in the Belgorod region on September 17 while communicating with people from Ukraine, has been released from police custody.

As the publication itself reports , the police fined him 500 rubles for “hooliganism.”

Earlier, The Moscow Times reported that a lawyer was allowed to see Ponomarev on the morning of September 18. The journalist had been in custody for more than 19 hours.

• Kirill Ponomarevwas detained in Belgorod on September 17 while interviewing people from Ukraine. According to the Belgorod Anti-War Committee, he introduced himself as a Ukrainian journalist, and the police officers present at the conversation "got very tense." It was claimed that he might be suspected of espionage, but this information was not confirmed.