Just in the last two weeks, the Russian occupiers have detained and charged one Crimean with ‘justifying terrorism’ and passed real sentences against two others over pro-Ukrainian comments made on social media. There are also constant arrests and administrative prosecutions, with occupation ‘courts’ regularly convicting Crimeans of ‘discrediting the Russian army’ for a Ukrainian flag, playing the Ukrainian national anthem or for expressing opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine. A recent Crimean Process study analysed prosecutions over all in occupied Crimea. It concluded that ‘judges’ were far more tolerant towards neo-Nazis than towards any expressions of support for Ukraine.
In all cases against Ukrainians, a suspiciously active part is played by the so-called ‘Crimean SMERSH’ and its leader, Aleksandr Talipov. Although officially referred to as a ‘civic organization’, Crimean SMERSH’s activities in hunting down Crimeans and forcing them to ‘repent’ and / or ‘apologise’ on video are very obviously closely coordinated with the Russian occupation enforcement bodies.
‘Justification of terrorism’
It is very often Crimean SMERSH who first report an ‘arrest’ or sentence, with this the case on 27 August 2025. They reported that a resident of the Dzhankoi district of Crimea had been detained, and remanded in custody for two months, on a charge of ‘justifying terrorism’, with this carrying a sentence of up to 7 years. It is claimed that the man, who is not named, administered a Telegram channel “on which he published material in which he justified an act of terrorism – the explosion on the Crimean Bridge”. On the accompanying video which claims to show his ‘arrest’, but which could well have been staged long after he was first seized, the man says that he has been detained for expressing happiness at the explosion to the Crimean Bridge.
There have, in fact, been two explosions on this bridge – on 8 October 2022 and on 7 July 2023. The bridge was built illegally and is actively used for transporting men, equipment and weapons for use in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The bridge is, therefore, an entirely legitimate target for attack, with this in no way an act of terrorism, unlike Russia’s deliberately bombing of residential buildings throughout Ukraine, and killing of civilians, including many children. It is likely that the Ukrainian will be charged under Article 205.2 of Russia’s criminal code ‘Public calls to carry out terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism’.
Crimean SMERSH asserts that the man was already imprisoned for two years under another flawed charge, namely Article 354.1 of the Russian criminal code. This claims to be against the ‘rehabilitation of Nazism’, but has already been used in 2016 by a court in Perm and upheld by Russia’s Supreme Court, to prosecute Vladimir Luzgin for writing, quite correctly, that both Nazi Germany and the USSR invaded Poland in September 1939. Later, in September 2029, a Russian architect and blogger, Sergei Volkov was convicted and fined a massive 2 million roubles for criticizing Soviet dictator and mass murderer Joseph Stalin and telling the truth about Soviet collaboration with Nazi Germany.
Iryna Volodymyrova
The 62-year-old postwoman from Feodosia was sentenced on 14 August 2025 to 20 months of compulsory labour for supposed ‘discrediting of the Russian army’ in comments on social media.
The sentence, together with a two-year ban on ‘activities on the Internet’, was passed by ‘judge’ Ihor Havryliuk from the occupation ‘Feodosia city court’.
Nothing is known of the actual comments that elicited the latest prosecution, nor where she posted them. The charge, under Article 280.3 § 1 of Russia’s criminal code, is the more serious of two on supposed ‘discrediting’ which were rushed into law within ten days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Criminal proceedings can be brought if a person has already been convicted of the same administrative charge, under Article 20.3.3 of Russia’s code of administrative offences. Volodymyrova had earlier been fined twice for having supposedly ‘discredited the Russian army’ (and others involved in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine), as well as once for purportedly ‘inciting hatred or enmity’ under Article 20.3.1 of the administrative code. The three fines came to 70 thousand roubles, with all of them over comments on social media.
The first of these prosecutions was in April 2022, over a post on ‘Odnoklasniki’ where she “expressed opposition” to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The second was over comments in Ukrainian on chat channels. In one of these, she said that Ukrainian drones should strike Russian civilian targets also. Until that happens, she continued, Russians will continue getting ecstatic over Ukrainians’ grief and suffering.
The prosecution for allegedly ‘inciting enmity’ was over a comment on Telegram where “a group of people identified by nationality, language, origin, was negatively assessed”. Volodymyrova denied this charge, which pertained only to the words under a post about a Russian military man that he was a Buryat by nationality.
Iryna Volodymyrova was detained in November 2024, with Talipov taking the opportunity of forcing her to “apologise for insulting the Russian Federation army” on video,
The 62-year-old Ukrainian may well be facing a worse sentence for expressing pro-Ukrainian views on social media. The Crimean Human Rights Group reports that separate criminal charges were brought against Volodymyrova in July 2025, under “public calls to extremist activities via the Internet’ (Article 280 § 2 of Russia’s criminal code). It is ominous that, in that same month, Volodymyrova was added to Russia’s notorious ‘register of extremists and terrorists’.
2-year sentence for supporting Ukraine’s Armed Forces
An unnamed 45-year-old from Yalta was sentenced on 28 August 2025 to two years in a low-security prison colony for comments on social media. It was claimed that he had made “insulting comments about the Russian population and actively supported the actions of Ukraine’s Armed Forces” on social media.
Lenur Enverovych
The 44-year-old Crimean Tatar from near Yevpatoria was detained by the occupation police for expressing support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces on an anonymous account on Telegram. He was also claimed to have “denied the territorial integrity of Crimea”, which is how the aggressor state describes agreeing with the United Nations, other international structures and democratic states, and continuing to call Crimea Ukrainian territory. The occupation police also claim that he made insulting remarks addressed at Russians and circulated pro-Ukrainian slogans.
In reporting this on 21 August 2025, the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre spoke only of administrative charges, with Talipov and his Crimean SMERSH vigilantes, having forced Enverovych to ‘apologise’.
As of the end of August 2025, at least 1500 Crimeans had been prosecuted for ‘discrediting the Russian armed forces’, with a significant number of such cases involving as little as a person playing Ukraine’s national anthem or patriotic songs.
See also:
Crimean sentenced to 5 years for critical comments about Russia’s army on YouTube
Crimean blogger sentenced to 2. 5 years for ' showing disrespect for Russia' s military glory'
Crimean sentenced to 5 years for Ukrainian Yellow Ribbon activism against Russian occupation
Crimean Tatar imprisoned for refusal to ‘publicly repent’ protest over Russia’s war against Ukraine
