Mikhailov ran the small online opposition social media channel “Listok” in Siberia’s Altai republic – a region that has sent many men to Ukraine.
In a speech in court earlier this week, Mikhailov stood by his reporting and harshly criticised the Kremlin for sending troops to Ukraine.
He said the Russian state narrative of calling the Ukrainian leadership “fascist” had “created a whole virtual universe in the information space, and this fog became stronger and stronger”.
“My publications were aimed against this fog, so that my readers were not seduced by lies, so that they do not take part in armed conflicts, do not become murderers and victims and so that they do not harm the brotherly Ukrainian people,” Mikhailov said, in an audio of the speech published by Listok on social media.
More than 1,000 people have been prosecuted in Russia for criticising the Russian offensive against Ukraine since the start of the armed conflict in February 2022, according to monitor OVD-Info.
Source: CNA
