Tula court charges local DJ with “discrediting” the army for playing a New Year’s song by a Ukrainian duo

Sergey Vasiliev, a DJ at a cafe in the Tula region, has been charged with “discrediting” the Russian army and fined 40,000 rubles (around 540 USD) for playing a New Year-themed song, on December 31, by the Ukrainian duo Potap & Nastya.

Vasiliev played the song during Vladimir Putin’s televised New Year’s address. According to the court, because of Vasiliev’s actions, a video later appeared on social media showing the Russian president’s New Year’s address playing in the cafe with the Potap & Nastya song in background, causing Putin’s words to sound distorted. Vasiliev pleaded not guilty.

Earlier in February, the same court fined Stanislav Ermakov, the creator of the video in question, 45,000 rubles (around 600 USD).