Russian man fined £400 for posting about Volodymyr Zelenskyy dream on Instagram
A Russian man has been fined nearly £400 for posting about a dream he had of Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Instagram.
Ivan Losev, from Chita, was fined 30,000 Rubles (£388.82) for his now-deleted post.
A local court later convicted him of dissent against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and 'discrediting' the Russian army, which can lead to a jail sentencing of up to 15 years.
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The 26-year-old told his followers: “Last night, I dreamed about being mobilised and brought to some kind of boot camp.
“Suddenly, AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) fighters led by Zelenskyy burst in, rounded everyone up, and were about to execute us by firing squad.
“At this moment, Zelenskyy walks past me and says, ‘Ah, I’ve seen your stories on Instagram. Glory to Ukraine!’ I reply, ‘Glory to heroes!’
“Zelenskyy pats me on the shoulder and approvingly says: ‘Let this one go, and execute everyone else’.
“So there we are, me and him, standing side by side, watching, and I tell him, ‘Can I get a selfie with you for my Instagram?’ Zelenskyy says: ‘Sure.”
Speaking about the case, Losev said: "I struggle to imagine how a Zabaikalsk FSB officer in his forties re-typed my post with a straight face to add it to the case file. The thought is ridiculous!"
He also claimed to Sibir.Realli that authorities called him on his work phone, telling him: "There is reason to believe that you are engaged in discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," before advising him to go to his local police department.
Losev added that he had 'come to terms' with the idea of potentially going to jail and is certain that 'Ukraine will win' in the war.
With regards to the ongoing war, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure from Zelenskyy and Boris Johnson to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles in a bid to help end the Russian invasion.
Mr Zelensky requested 'modern tanks', along with more guns and shells, at the virtual G7 meeting on Monday (12 December).
“We need more rocket artillery and more long-range missiles. The more effective we are with such weapons the shorter the Russian aggression will be,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Johnson told the House of Commons that he believes Ukraine should receive systems, which have a range of up around 190 miles, to 'bring the war to an end as soon as possible'.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace responded: “I constantly review the weapon systems we could provide. I hear his call on ATACMS from the United States.
“We, too, have in our armoury potential weapon systems that are longer and, should the Russians continue to target civilian areas and try and break those Geneva Conventions, then I will be open-minded to seeing what we do next.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the weaponry being supplied to Ukraine is 'for use in Ukraine to enable it to defend itself against the illegal invasion'.
“I’m not aware of any plans to alter that approach but obviously we keep these things under review,” he added.
Anish Vij