Russia cracks down on critics of Ukraine war

The Russian government increased its harassment of citizens who speak out against the ongoing war in Ukraine, cracking down on critics on Wednesday.

Authorities confirmed that a critic of the Ukraine invasion had their detention extended and charges were brought against two others, while the chief rabbi of Moscow, a fierce critic of the war, fled the country, the Associated Press reported.

Under a law adopted for the invasion of Ukraine, the spreading of supposedly false statements about the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine is punishable by a maximum 15 years in prison. According to human rights groups, there have been dozens of arrests under the new legislation.

In the most publicized case regarding the crackdown by authorities, a court in Moscow extended the detention until August 12 of government critic Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a journalist who was a supporter of the late opposition leader Boris Nemtsov who was assassinated. Kara-Murza Jr. was accused by the government of publishing “false information” about the Russian military.