Fake news about fascism: Kherson resident placed under house arrest for propaganda

A resident of Kherson was placed under house arrest for spreading pro-Russian propaganda. For a long time, the man had been publishing and distributing materials that justified Russian aggression against Ukraine and glorified its participants.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to law enforcement, since March 2022, the suspect has regularly reposted posts with pro-Russian narratives, ranging from denying the war to supporting the occupation of Ukrainian territories.

The investigation materials describe in detail the content of the posts that the Kherson resident distributed on the banned social network Odnoklassniki. It is not only about general pro-Russian narratives, but also about specific statements that directly justify the war and glorify its participants.

In particular, in March 2022, a man posted a message claiming that after the so-called "liberation of Kyiv," Russia, together with the United States, Britain, and France, would allegedly "defeat Ukrainian fascism." The same message contained the thesis that "Russians will destroy Nazism in 2022," which, according to the investigation, is a direct justification for armed aggression.

In another publication, the suspect spread the claim that Russia "brought troops into its territory," accompanied by a list of Ukrainian cities that were allegedly founded by Russian tsars. The post ended with a dismissive question about the existence of Ukraine as a state, which investigators consider to be an element of information propaganda and a denial of the country's sovereignty.

Some posts contained open glorification of the Russian military. For example, he shared images of Russian soldiers with the "z" symbol with captions that they were "saving the world from Nazism again," as well as posts with words of support: that the soldiers were "strong, brave and real heroes" who needed to be protected.

In addition, the suspect actively reposted materials about combatants on the side of Russia, including enthusiastic descriptions of the so-called "heroes" who took part in the battles and calls to "know them by sight." In another post, according to the investigation, he disseminated a statement by one of the PMC commanders with threats against the enemy - and this publication is also regarded as glorification of aggression.

Among the disseminated content were reports of alleged "support for Russia" by Ukrainian residents. One of these texts referred to a fictitious appeal from Kyiv, where the author claimed that people were "waiting for liberation" and were afraid of the Ukrainian authorities.

The man also published posts about the "victories" of Russian troops, in particular in the Soledar area, accompanying them with emotional shouts such as "hurray" and congratulations to the Russian army.

In general, according to the investigation, all these publications are united by a common rhetoric: denial of aggression, its justification, discrediting Ukraine and glorification of the Russian military and related structures. This was the basis for the notice of suspicion under the article on justifying the enemy's armed aggression.

The investigation believes that such actions have signs of justifying and recognizing the legitimacy of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as glorifying its participants.

On March 12, 2026, the man was served a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He partially pleaded guilty in court.

The court imposed house arrest on the man. According to the ruling, he is obliged to stay at his place of residence at night - from 22:00 to 06:00, to appear at the call of the investigator or court, to report changes of residence and to hand over documents for traveling abroad.

Also in Kherson, the court arrested the equipment of a resident of the city. She is suspected of spreading propaganda justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Анна Бальчінос