Moscow critic and former publisher sentenced to 8 years for defaming Russian forces in Ukraine war

TALLINN, Estonia — A Moscow court on Thursday sentenced former publisher and chief editor Ilya Krasilshchik to eight years in prison in absentia for defaming Russia’s armed forces involved in the war on Ukraine.

Krasilshchik, who has left Russia, is a former publisher of the Riga-based exiled Russian news outlet Meduza and a former editor-in-chief of Russian entertainment and lifestyle magazine Afisha. He is also the former head of delivery service Yandex.Lavka.

Krasilshchik now runs the “Help Desk” project, a media platform and service to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.

An arrest warrant was issued for him in March over materials he published online about atrocities by Russian armed forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Russian forces briefly occupied Bucha, near Kyiv, early on in the war, leaving hundreds of civilians dead in the streets and in mass graves.

Krasilshchik is the latest in a long list of Kremlin critics sentenced for spreading “false information” about Russia’s armed forces.

Spreading “false information” about Russia’s military became a criminal offense in Russia a week after the invasion started in February 2022. Authorities use the law to clamp down on anyone speaking out against the war or deviating from its official narrative.

The case against Krasilshchik was initially launched in the spring of 2022, and he was put on the “wanted” list in July that year.

In a Facebook post commenting on the sentence, Krasilshchik expressed relief that the trial was over and said he will not appeal the sentence. “The circus is over, and to hell with it,” he wrote.