Russian man fined for Instagram post about dream of meeting Zelensky

A Russian has been fined nearly £400 for “discrediting” his country’s army after he described his dream about Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a since-deleted Instagram post Ivan Losev, from the eastern Siberian city of Chita, wrote that he had dreamt about meeting Ukraine’s president and taking a selfie with him.

“I dreamt that I was mobilised and brought to some kind of training camp when all of a sudden the Ukrainian armed forces, led by Zelensky, burst in. They tied everyone up and they were going to shoot us,” Losev wrote in September, according to the Sibir.Realii news website.

“But at that moment, Zelensky passes me and says: ‘Oh, I saw your stories on [Instagram], glory to Ukraine!’”

Losev recalled praising Ukrainian forces, after which Zelensky told soldiers to “let him go, [and] shoot everyone else”.

 “I then ask him: ‘Can I take a selfie with you for Instagram?’ Zelensky says: ‘Sure’.”

Putin announced in late September that 300,000 men would be mobilised in an attempt to save the ailing military campaign.

Losev had criticised Russia’s “partial” mobilisation of troops in several other Instagram posts, which Federal Security Service (FSB) workers submitted to law enforcement.

Chita’s central district court found Losev guilty of “discrediting” the Russian military with his posts and on Monday ordered him to pay a 30,000 ruble (£390) fine, Sibir.Realii reported.

Losev said he found the ruling “idiotic” and that he has already “come to terms” with the possibility of fleeing Russia or being jailed for his anti-war stance.

Thousands of Russians have been charged with “discrediting” or disseminating “fake news” about the military under new laws passed shortly after the invasion. Kremlin critics say the laws have been used to silence virtually all anti-war sentiment.

 “I am sure that Ukraine will win. As soon as Ukraine wins, all the people who are now in prison [for ‘discrediting’ or spreading ‘fakes’ about the army], they will either be released or somehow rehabilitated. And we will not be ashamed to look the world community, the Ukrainians, or ourselves in the eye,” Losev said.