A court in St. Petersburg has issued the city’s first fine for publishing footage showing the aftermath of a drone attack, local authorities said on Aug. 18.<\/p>\n
A judge fined a local resident 4,000 rubles ($47) over a video posted online following a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on St. Petersburg on July 24. Authorities did not disclose what the footage showed.<\/p>\n
Since January 2025, Moscow has banned<\/a> the publication of material showing drone strikes and other attacks without official permission. In a broader push by Russian authorities to tighten control over information about Ukrainian strikes, Russian authorities claim the measures are intended to prevent the spread of “fake news.”<\/p>\n In May, a court in Russia\u2019s Tula Oblast issued the first fine<\/a> under the new law of 25,000 rubles ($294) to a local resident for filming and posting a video of a Ukrainian drone strike.<\/p>\n A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack<\/a> on St. Petersburg and other parts of Russia on July 24 hit logistics facilities belonging to Wildberries, Russia\u2019s largest online retailer.<\/p>\n On that day, Wildberries warehouses in St. Petersburg and Tver, as well as in Russian-occupied Crimea, were reportedly hit.<\/p>\n Ukrainian strikes have frequently targeted<\/a> the company in recent months.<\/p>\n