Russia sentences 19-year-old woman to nearly three years in a penal colony after poetic anti-war protest
Darya Kozyreva was sentenced to two years and eight months, the Joint Press Service of Courts in St. Petersburg said in statement Friday.
Kozyreva was arrested on February 24, 2024, after she glued a verse by Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko onto his monument in St Petersburg, according to OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights group.
The verse from Shevchenko's My Testament read, 'Oh bury me, then rise ye up / And break your heavy chains / And water with the tyrants' blood / The freedom you have gained,' OVD-Info said.
A second case was brought against her in August 2024, following an interview with Radio Free Europe in which she called Russia's war in Ukraine 'monstrous' and 'criminal,' OVD-Info said.
During one of her hearings, the teenager maintained that she had merely recited a poem, and pasted a quote in Ukrainian, 'nothing more,' the court press service said.
The anti-war activist has had previous run-ins with the law, having been detained in December 2022 while still at high school for writing, 'Murderers, you bombed it. Judases,' on an installation dedicated to the twinning of the Russian city of St Petersburg and Ukraine's Mariupol, the rights group said.
She was then fined for 'discreditation' a year later and expelled from university for a post she made on a Russian social media platform discussing the 'imperialist nature of the war,' according to Memorial, one of the country's most respected human rights organizations.
Describing Kozyreva as a political prisoner, Memorial condemned the charges against her as 'absurd' in a statement last year, saying they were aimed at suppressing dissent.
Prosecutors had been seeking a six-year sentence for Kozyreva, Russian independent media channel, SOTA Vision, reported from inside the courtroom. Video footage by Reuters showed Kozyreva smiling and waving to supporters as she left the court.
Kozyreva's lawyer told Reuters they would likely appeal.
The verdict was condemned by Amnesty International's Russia Director Natalia Zviagina as 'another chilling reminder of how far the Russian authorities will go to silence peaceful opposition to their war in Ukraine.'
'Daria Kozyreva is being punished for quoting a classic of 19th-century Ukrainian poetry, for speaking out against an unjust war and for refusing to stay silent. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Daria Kozyreva and everyone imprisoned under 'war censorship laws,'' Zviagina said in a statement.
Russia has a history of attempting to stifle anti-war dissent among its younger generation. Last year, CNN reported that at least 35 minors have faced politically motivated criminal charges in Russia since 2009, according to OVD-Info. Of those, 23 cases have been initiated since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Currently, more than 1,500 people are imprisoned on political grounds in Russia, according to a tally by OVD-Info, with Moscow's crackdown on dissent escalating since the war began. Between then and December 2024, at least 20,070 people were detained for anti-war views, and there were 9,369 cases of 'discrediting the army,' relating to actions including social media posts or wearing clothes with Ukrainian flag symbols, according to OVD-Info.
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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
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Cluster Warhead Version Of Russian Kh-101 Cruise Missile Caught On Camera
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Considering the distance of Chernivtsi from Russia — it is only around 20 miles from the border of NATO-member Romania — the long-range Kh-101 cruise missile is the only reasonable candidate. In addition, a cluster warhead is not currently known to be provided for any Russian cruise missile other than the Kh-101, although it is far from a new concept, with cruise missiles like the U.S.-made Tomahawk Land Attack Missile also previously having this option. The maximum range of the Kh-101 missile is reportedly between 1,864 and 2,485 miles. The missile apparently entered series production in 2010-11 and was subsequently used in combat during Russia's campaign in Syria, launched by both Tu-160 and Tu-95MS bombers. The first reports of a cluster warhead version of the Kh-101 cruise missile — which is known to NATO as the AS-23A Kodiak — began to appear last summer. 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Should not be touched, but reported to police. — Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) June 12, 2024 Cluster munitions from new Kh-101 Russian cruise — Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 15, 2024 The existence of a cluster-warhead Kh-101 was also confirmed by Russian military bloggers, who highlighted the value of a weapon of this kind, especially for targeting Ukrainian airbases and air defense sites. According to the Milinfolive channel on Telegram: 'The lack of cluster warheads in Russian long-range cruise missiles, such as the Kh-101 or Kalibr, had an extremely negative impact on the effectiveness of missile strikes on enemy airbases in the first weeks of hostilities, when Ukrainian aviation was in the most vulnerable position, and the air defense system of the AFU could not shoot down even a fraction of the missiles.' 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New York Post
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First lady Melania Trump helped convince president to get tough on Russia, he says
President Trump suggested Monday that first lady Melania may have helped convince him to ramp up military aid to Ukraine. As he explained his decision to get tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said his wife was one of the people who directly pointed out to him that Putin always backs out of his promises following their phone calls over a peace deal. President Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where he announces a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO. REUTERS Advertisement 'I go home, I tell the first lady, 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.' She said, 'Oh, really? another city was just hit,'' he said, recounting one of their recent calls. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend the FIFA Club World Cup final soccer match in New Jersey on Sunday. AP The Kremlin has repeatedly fired ever-escalating waves of drone and missiles attacks at Ukraine following the calls with Trump. The American commander-in-chief announced that he was fed up with Moscow as he vowed to commit 'billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Ukraine and levy 100% tariffs against Russia if Putin continues to reject a US-backed cease-fire agreement over the next 50 days.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Can Trump's Patriot Missiles Help Ukraine Turn the Tide Against Russia?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States will send additional Patriot air-defense systems to Ukraine, part of a European Union–funded deal intended to bolster Kyiv's defenses against intensifying Russian missile and drone attacks and coming as President Donald Trump is voicing increased frustrations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Sunday, Trump confirmed that Patriots "which they desperately need" would be sent, paid for "100 percent" by European allies. Trump, returning to Washington from New Jersey, added pointedly: "He [Putin] talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening. I don't like it." Trump is expected to announce further measures on Russia in meetings with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and lawmakers this week. 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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following Russia's drones attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following Russia's drones attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. AP Cancian stressed that Ukraine's needs extend far beyond air defenses. "It also needs weapons, munitions, and supplies across the board since its armies in combat go through these at a high rate," he said. The EU deal is meant to show the West's united front against Russian aggression, to force Moscow to "participate in ceasefire negotiations," he said. "But the real battlefield need is broader — Ukraine needs a wide range of air defenses for the drones and low-cost attacks they face daily, and they need weapons, munitions, and supplies of all kinds. Patriot is important, but it is not a game changer by itself." Why is the U.S. sending more aid now? Trump's decision to broker the EU deal reflects both a response to Ukraine's urgent pleas and his own frustrations with Putin's continued escalation in spite of White House efforts to bring him to the negotiating table. As Trump himself said: "We're not paying anything for them... but we will get them Patriots." The announcement also reverses a months-long freeze on U.S. weapons shipments to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told reporters after meetings with European leaders that he had received "all necessary political signals" for aid to resume and described his dialogue with Trump as "constructive and very positive." The German government confirmed that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will meet U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week to finalize details of the Patriot transfers, amid Berlin's continued refusal to send its long-range Taurus missiles over fears of escalation on European soil.
