A Russian politician has requested that investigations be launched against Russian President Vladimir Putin for using the word “war” while describing the invasion of Ukraine.
Nikita Yuferev, a Russian dissident from St. Petersburg, called on prosecutors to investigate the president for self-inflicted wrongdoing.
Putin has so far described the invasion only as a “special military operation” and has introduced a law that provides for prison sentences for anyone who describes the conflict in the Ukrainian state as a war.
Putin, on Thursday, told reporters that “Our goal is not to turn the wheel of the military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war.”
“It is important for me to do this to draw attention to the contradiction and injustice of these laws that Putin approves and signs, but which he himself does not respect. I think that the more we talk about it, the more people will doubt the honesty, the infallibility, and the less support there will be,” said the young politician.
Yuferev launched the legal challenge through an open letter written to the prosecutor general and the interior minister, saying “hold Putin accountable under the law for spreading fake news about the actions of the Russian military.”
Otherwise, critics who have publicly called the occupation a war have received harsh punishments.
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison this month for spreading “false information” about the army. In July, local Moscow city councilor Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to seven years for criticizing the occupation.