Russia jails police officer for questioning Putin's Ukraine war after phone tapped

A police officer in Russia is facing jail time after his phone was wiretapped and he was found slamming Russia's so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine. Originally from Bucha in Ukraine, Russian officer Sergei Vedel was caught making demeaning comments about the armed forces of Russia during his talks with Ukrainian relatives. The officer faces detention for making "disparaging comments about the war in conversations with his relatives," Newsweek reported, citing an indictment published on the Telegram channel of opposition politician Ilya Yashin.

The Russian officer was employed as a driver previously for the head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. His phone was wiretapped a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Yashin said his boss could have investigated him given that he is of Ukrainian origin.

Over the phone call, Vedel rejected Russia's justification for war that it was brimming with the Nazis and condemned the war crimes. He also spoke at length about the heavy Russian troop losses during the initial days of the war. A criminal case was lodged against him in March 2022 for disseminating  "false information" about the armed forces of Russia. 

The Russian Duma had earlier approved restrictive legislation imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading what the Kremlin deems to be intentionally “false information” about the military. The Kremlin introduced the "harsh" law to tackle "information war" about the special military operation. The law states that "anyone found guilty of knowingly disseminating information which distorts the purpose, role and tasks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as other formations during special military and other operations” could face criminal sanctions. 

12-year-old sent to orphanage for anti-war drawing 

Last week, police in Russia's western region of Tula detained a father, Alexei Moskalyov, and sent his daughter in sixth grade to an orphanage. The girl had expressed anti-war sentiments against Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation." Masha Moskaleva, from the city of Yefremov, had made an artwork depicting the Ukrainian flag, a woman next to a child and rockets, with a message emblazoned: "I am against war" and "Glory to Ukraine." She was seen opposing Russia's ongoing military operation in the eastern flank. 

The child was taken out of the class after the principal of the school noticed her drawings and informed the Russian police about it. The girl was later taken out of class and a criminal case was registered against her for "discrediting" the armed forces of Russia. A criminal case was lodged against the girl's father, according to OVD Info. The 12-year-old girl was taken by the Russian police to the state care centre while her father was detained.