The Maksatikha interdistrict court in Russia’s Tver region fined a local resident 30,000 rubles under an administrative charge of “discrediting” the Russian army. According to the court ruling, highlighted by Mediazona, the case was triggered by the words “Glory to Ukraine”.
In its decision, the court described the phrase as a slogan of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, both banned in Russia. The ruling also said that “discrediting” the army includes undermining trust in it and damaging its authority and image.
The man did not admit guilt. In court, he said he had not used those words. According to his account, in early May 2026 he had been drinking at the cafe “Normalnoye Mesto” in the settlement of Maksatikha, where unidentified women said something obscene to him. After the cafe closed, he went outside, saw them sitting on a bench, approached them, and, he said, the sides exchanged insults. One of the women then called the police.
The women who testified described the events differently. One of them said there had been no conflict inside the cafe and that, after closing time, an unfamiliar man approached them, someone she had not seen in the venue before. She said he demanded alcohol, but she replied that she was not going to get acquainted with him or drink with him.
According to her testimony, an argument followed, during which the man slapped her on the cheek, causing her to fall to the ground. Then, the ruling says, he made “statements against Russia,” including the phrases
“Ukraine will win soon anyway” and “Glory to Ukraine.”
The witness said she asked why he was saying “such words,” after which, according to the case materials, he tore her glasses from her face, threw them aside, and punched her in the cheek again. While the women were waiting for the police, he allegedly continued insulting them, threw cigarette butts, and threatened them, saying that “it’s the end for all of us, the end for all of Russia.” On that basis, the court treated the statements about Ukraine’s victory as an administrative offense.