Russian local elected official files complaint against Vladimir Putin over his use of the word ‘war’
A Russian city councilor has announced that he has filed a complaint against Vladimir Putin, which he accuses of spreading “fake news” for using the word “war” in describing the situation in Ukraine.
In fact, during a press conference on Thursday, the Russian president used the word “war” while assuring that he wanted the conflict in Ukraine to end. “the previous” possible. “Our goal is not to make the conflict spin like a flywheel, but, on the contrary, to put an end to this war and this we aspire to”, said the Russian president. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, is officially defined by the Kremlin as a “special military operation”. The Russian authorities have introduced a law providing for heavy prison sentences for any publication of military information convicted “impostor”.
“The Russian Federation has not started any war”wrote Nikita Iouferev, city councilor of St. Petersburg (North-West), in his complaint addressed to the Russian prosecutor general, Igor Krasnov, and the text of which was published Thursday evening on the elected Twitter account. “In accordance with a decision of the President of the Russian Federation dated February 24, 2022, a special operation is underway”he added, calling for Putin’s remarks to be investigated and prosecuted “spreading false information about the Russian military”.
This request has little chance of success, especially since the text of the local elect contains several factual errors, such as the date of Putin’s speech or the president’s own name, once written in the feminine. However, this is a very rare initiative in the country, where repression has accelerated since the beginning of the offensive in Ukraine.
