Russian ex-law enforcement officer sentenced to prison over Ukraine war criticism

A former police officer in Russia has been sentenced to seven years in prison for publicly spreading false information about the country's military by criticizing the war in Ukraine to his friends over the phone. The Kremlin has actively used the law to stifle dissent and criminalize independent reporting on the conflict and any public criticism of the war. The conviction is part of a sweeping campaign of repression that has accompanied the invasion of Ukraine, which has seen citizens fined for discrediting the military over 4,000 times in 2022 alone.