A resident of Obninsk, Zakhar Petukhov, was found guilty of spreading "fake news" about the Russian army (Article 207.3, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sentenced to 2 years in prison, which was replaced by 2 years of hard labor by Article 53.1 of the Criminal Code, with 10% of his earnings withheld for the state.

The criminal prosecution was prompted by a message he sent in a residential chat in December 2024. In that message, Petukhov spoke about the mass killing of civilians in Bucha.

The court decided that the man "misled the participants of the residential chat regarding the legality of the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the Special Military Operation, as well as undermined the authority and discredited the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the eyes of society, causing citizens who became acquainted with the statement above to feel anxiety, fear, concern, and a sense of insecurity on the part of the state."

Petukhov fully admitted his guilt.

Information about his criminal case became known in early March. FSB officers detained Petukhov, and a video of his apologies appeared in the media.

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