Kremlin Critic Roizman Faces Fines Over Ukraine Comments and Army Discrediting

Russian opposition figure Yevgeny Roizman has been fined 260,000 rubles ($3,259) for discrediting the Russian military in a video he posted on YouTube in July 2022 in which he criticized Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Roizman, the former mayor of Yekaterinburg, pleaded not guilty and could have faced up to five years in jail. The prosecutor recommended a lenient sentence due to the "low gravity" of the offense and "mitigating circumstances" including Roizman's involvement in charitable activities and having young children.