a Russian bombardment in Kherson leaves at least five dead and twenty wounded

A Russian local elected official files a complaint against Vladimir Putin for his use of the word “war”

A Russian city councilor has announced that he has filed a complaint against Vladimir Putin, whom he accuses of having disseminated ” fake news “ for using the word “war” when describing the situation in Ukraine.

Thursday, during a press conference, the Russian president indeed used the word “war” while ensuring that he wanted the conflict in Ukraine to end ” the earlier “ possible. “Our goal is not to spin the conflict like a flywheel, but, on the contrary, to end this war and we aspire to that”, said the Russian president. Begun on February 24, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is however officially called a “special military operation” by the Kremlin. The Russian authorities have introduced a law providing for heavy prison sentences for any publication of information on the army judged ” fake “.

“The Russian Federation has not started any war”wrote Nikita Iouferev, city councilor in Saint Petersburg (Northwest), in his complaint addressed to the Russian prosecutor general, Igor Krasnov, and the text of which was published Thursday evening on the Twitter account of the elected official. “In accordance with a decision of the President of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2022, a special operation is underway”he added, asking to investigate Mr. Putin’s remarks and to prosecute him for “spreading false information about the Russian army”.

This request has little chance of succeeding, especially since the text of the local elected official contains several factual errors, such as the date of Mr. Putin’s speech or the very name of the president, written once in the feminine. This is nevertheless a very rare initiative in the country, where repression has accelerated since the start of the offensive in Ukraine.

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