12 Years in Prison for a Ukrainian Woman in Russia for 'Inflating Balloons'

Russian media has reported the sentencing of a Ukrainian woman to 12 years in prison by a military court in the country for inflating blue and white balloons, which symbolize opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian news agency TASS reported that the charge against 35-year-old Kristina Liubashenko is participation in the activities of the 'Russian Freedom Legion,' a group that has opposed the war since the onset of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and calls for the end of Vladimir Putin's rule. Apart from inflating the blue and white balloons, the Ukrainian woman is accused of 'spreading misinformation' about the military by installing loudspeakers in the window of a residential building and broadcasting what the Kremlin's prosecutor's office claims to be 'fake information about Russia's attack on Ukraine.' The independent news outlet 'Mediazona' reported, citing the woman's lawyer, that Ms. Liubashenko fled to Switzerland after Russia's attack on her country in 2022 but was unable to support her sick mother, elderly father, and two daughters there. The report adds that in Switzerland, a Ukrainian man who introduced himself as a refugee lent Ms. Liubashenko money and asked her to go to Russia. After her relocation to Russia, this man requested that she inflate blue and white balloons and broadcast anti-war information using loudspeakers. Her lawyer stated that she initially refused to install the loudspeakers, but the man who lent her money threatened that if she did not comply with his orders, she might lose custody of her daughters. The report notes that despite Ms. Liubashenko's explanations, the Russian military court did not heed her arguments and issued a 12-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has used vague charges labeled as 'treason' as a tool for widespread suppression of protesters against Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. An independent Russian media outlet reported last January that the country had employed the highest level of criminal prosecution and case-making for treason since the fall of the Soviet Union throughout 2023.