Ukrainian woman sentenced to 12 years in prison in Russia for allegedly spreading fake news about the war
Kyiv • UNN
A 35-year-old Ukrainian woman was sentenced in Russia to 12 years in prison for launching balloons with a white, blue and white flag in Moscow, which the authorities considered to be participation in a terrorist organization.
In Russia, a 35-year-old Ukrainian woman, Kristina Lyubashenko, who launched balloons with a white, blue and white flag in Moscow, was sentenced to 12 years in prison . This was reported by the Russian media, UNN reports.
Details
The court found the woman guilty of spreading "fakes" about the war and participation in a terrorist organization.
It is noted that after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine , Lyubashenko and her family fled Kyiv for Switzerland. However, she was short of money, so she agreed to a friend's offer to go to Russia and launch balloons in Moscow for a reward.
And yet, on May 8, 2023, the woman was detained: operatives were already waiting for her at the planned launch site. Lyubashenko's trial took two days.
According to Russian investigators, in May 2023, Lyubashenko placed speakers on the window of her rented apartment in the Moscow region town of Dovgoprudny and loudly played a recording of an anti-war speech and the Ukrainian anthem. The security forces consider this to be spreading "fakes" about the army.
In addition, she was detained with balloons to which a white and blue flag was tied. The launching of the balloons was regarded by the investigation as participation in a terrorist organization. It is likely to be the Legion "Freedom of Russia" - whose fighters often use these colors.
Addendum
As Lyubashenko herself explained, after fleeing to Switzerland, she met Vitaliy Yurchenko, who, according to the lawyer, "posed as a refugee from Ukraine."
It was he who persuaded her to hold a peaceful action against the war there in exchange for money: to launch yellow and blue balloons into the sky. At the time, there was no talk of a flag in the white, blue, and white color scheme, nor of speakers to broadcast the Ukrainian anthem and lyrics.
According to her, he helped her get to Moscow. Lyubashenko added that after that, the man threatened to tell the guardianship authorities about the daughters she had left behind in Switzerland and that they would be taken to an orphanage.
Recall
In occupied Donetsk, "a Georgian citizen Mamuka Gatsareli, who fought on the side of Ukraine and was captured, was sentenced to life imprisonment.