Russia’s Putin slammed for breaking his own law with Ukraine ‘war’ reference
- Lawmaker Nikita Yuferev wants prosecutors to investigate Putin, contending the remark violates a law the president himself signed this year
- Until this week, the Kremlin chief had publicly referred to the conflict only as a ‘special military operation’
A Russian lawmaker is now calling for Putin to face legal action over the comment and wants prosecutors to investigate, contending the remark violates a law the Russian leader himself signed earlier this year.
“Our goal is not to spin this flywheel of a military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war,” Putin said during a press conference on Thursday. “This is what we are striving for.”
Nikita Yuferev, a lawmaker in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, said that this comment is not consistent with a law Putin signed that effectively criminalised referring to Russia’s assault on Ukraine as a “war” or “invasion.” The law made it illegal to spread “false information” about the Russian military, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, which essentially made criticism of the war a criminal offence.
“Vladimir Putin called the war a war but there was no decree to end the special military operation and no war was declared,” Yuferev said on social media, per the Moscow Times, adding, “I sent an appeal to the authorities so Putin can see justice for spreading ‘fake news’ about the army.”